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Darkfield Microscopy to Visualize Diffusional Dynamics of Nanorods on Cell Membrane
Overview
In this video, we describe the darkfield microscopy (DFM) technique combined with single-particle tracking (SPT) analysis to monitor the interaction of plasmonic gold nanorods with the cell membrane of a specific cell line of interest. Combined DFM and SPT analysis allows the visualization of the nanorod movement through the cell membrane with high spatiotemporal resolution.
Protocol
1. Microscope slide preparation
NOTE: U87 MG cells of the third to tenth generation with high activity are used in SPT experiments.
- Sterilize 22 mm × 22 mm coverslips already cleaned with Piranha solution by immersing in ethanol (99.9%).
- Use forceps to take out the cover slip from the ethanol solution (step 1.1) and sterilize by burning ethanol on the flame. Once all ethanol is burnt, place coverslips in a plastic cell culture dish (.......
Representative Results
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the optical path of darkfield microscopy, microscope slide preparation, and the dual-channel difference method for calculating polar angle (θ) of AuNRs. Scale bar in image is 2 μm.
Figure 2: Characterization of CTAB-AuNRs. (A) TEM images of CTAB@AuNRs........
This article has been published
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Source: Ge, F., et al. Visualizing Diffusional Dynamics of Gold Nanorods on Cell Membrane using Single Nanoparticle Darkfield Microscopy. J. Vis. Exp. (2021).
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