Imaging Live Cells - Research Highlights #4 🥼
Post number four in our #BNDResearchHighlights series showcases the amazing work performed by Christopher Evans as part of his PhD in Mike Allen’s group at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) (now at University of Exeter!). Chris’s work used Dynamic SPM to image microalgal-viral interactions – including observation of whole viruses, live cell imaging, and capturing data showing the viral infection of a cell! 🦠This work was published in Frontiers in Virology in 2023 (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fviro.2023.1111335/full).
How did our SPM enable the best quality measurements?
🧫 To image a -living- cell, measurements were collected in liquid in in-vivo conditions with no impact to image quality and stability.
🔍 The macro- and micro-optical views combined with the high precision stage meant that specific cells could be located and imaged.
🚀 Video-rate imaging speeds for real-time observations of cell dynamics – enabling the direct observation of a viral infection. This is the first measurement of this kind collected using a contact-mode scanning probe microscope!
The video below shows surface topography of a live cell surface sitting happily in one of Chris’s nanoscribed wells (Read more about this novel methodology here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/4/680). The video was collected at 2 frames per second, with a frame size of 2 micrometres and height range of 12 nanometres, enabling observation of the finer scale structures on the surface and their dynamics!
Have you used our technology for your research? Drop us a message on our Contact Page with your publication recommendations! đź’¬ And if you would like to know more about Vector, check out our Vector page. We look forward to hearing from you!