As known to be widely used for diverse fields of research, cell analysis is one of the fundamental methods of studying cells. This method could bring a new level in pursuing well-being such as cure to cancer or complete treatment to incurable disease such as Alzheimer's disease. Since this topic is very complex to cover at once, we will break it down to few subcategories for you to get an overview of cell analysis in broad spectrum.
The importance of analyzing single cells
As cell is a building block of life, analyzing cells plays a crucial role in biological fields such as pharmacology, oncology, genetics, neuroscience, and immunology to understand the cell structure and cellular processes under specific conditions.
By understanding the characteristics and behavior of cell, treatment specifically targeting that cell could be found.
Depending on the purpose of analysis, several different techniques can be applied.
Three frequently used cell analyzing techniques
1. Flow cytometry
As briefly mentioned in cell counting category (Click to see previous post: https://www.blog-nanoentek.com/post/all-about-automated-cell-counter-part-2), flow cytometry is one of the mostly used methods to analyze cells one by one using a laser. This technology is used to analyze the characteristics of cells such as size, volume, granularity, and fluorescence intensity. To briefly summarize its principle, it shoots a laser on each cell that flows through the nozzle, catching the scattered light (forward and side) and fluorescence emitted.
2. Microscopy
Microscope has different types depending on light source, which are light microscope, electron microscope, and fluorescence microscope used to observe and visualize characteristics of cells in detail.
3. Live cell imaging
To lively observe and analyze cells using time lapse function, this technique is likely to be used. Live cell imaging technique is literally gathering cell data in images to analyze the behavior or characteristics of cell over time. This is useful in cosmetic or pharmaceutical field because control versus experimental group can be obtained to see the effects of certain substances on cells.
In the next following posts, we will go deeper into details on how cell analysis is used in different fields and types of applications that are often used.
NanoEntek product:
If interested in live cell imaging system, check below.
Objective lens | 4x, 10x, 20x |
Channel type | Brightfield, GFP, RFP, DAPI |
Vessel type | Well plate, flask, dish, slide |
Incubator installation | Available |
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