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Simultaneous Visualization of Wet Cells and Nanostructured Biomaterials in SEM using Ionic Liquids
Author(s) -
Lee Bryan E. J.,
DiCecco LizaAnastasia,
Exir Hourieh,
Weck Arnaud,
Sask Kyla N.,
Grandfield Kathryn
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.202000552
Subject(s) - ionic liquid , scanning electron microscope , materials science , titanium , adhesion , nanotechnology , surface modification , chemical engineering , nanoscopic scale , microscopy , cell adhesion , fluorescence microscope , ionic bonding , biomedical engineering , fluorescence , chemistry , ion , composite material , optics , organic chemistry , engineering , catalysis , medicine , physics , metallurgy
This work presents a successful methodology to image mammalian cells adhered to nanostructured titanium by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) operating in low‐vacuum mode following ionic liquid treatment. Human osteoblast‐like Saos‐2 cells were treated with a room‐temperature ionic liquid, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, and subsequently imaged on titanium by SEM. Titanium substrates were modified to create laser‐induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) for visualization at the submicron scale. By using a combination of fluorescence‐based cell metabolism along with light microscopy and SEM image analysis, the shape and location of irradiated cells were confirmed to be unchanged after multiple irradiation sessions; the viability of minimally irradiated cells was also unaltered. The wet imaging conditions combined with a rapid facile protocol using ionic liquid allows this technique to fulfill a niche in examining cellular behavior on biomaterials with submicron surface features. The demonstrated method to track observed cell adhesion to submicron surface features by SEM has great implications for understanding cell migration on nanostructured surfaces as well as the exploration of simpler SEM preparation methods for cellular imaging.