Mg. Langer et al., A SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPE FOR SIMULTANEOUS FORCE AND PATCH-CLAMP MEASUREMENTS ON LIVING CELL TISSUES, Review of scientific instruments, 68(6), 1997, pp. 2583-2590
For the investigation of mechanosensitive ion channels of living cells
it is of great interest to apply very local forces in the piconewton
range and to measure, simultaneously, ion currents down to 1 pA. Scann
ing force microscopy (SFM) is a suitable technique, that allows the ap
plication of such small forces with a lateral resolution in the range
of 10 nm. We developed a novel type of experimental setup, because no
existing SFM, home built or commercial, allows a simultaneous investig
ation of ion currents and mechanical properties of living cells. The c
onstruction consists of a SFM that is combined with an upright infrare
d differential interference contrast (DIG) video microscope and a conv
entional patch-clamp setup. Instead of the object, the force sensor is
scanned to prevent relative movements between the patch pipette and t
he patched cell. The deflection of the SFM cantilever is detected with
the so-called optical deflection method through the objective of the
optical microscope. In opposite to common optical setups the laser bea
m was not focused on the force sensor. The presented optic creates a p
arallel laser beam between the objective and the SFM cantilever, which
allows a vertical displacement of the sensor without any changes of t
he-detector signal. For the three-dimensional positioning of the speci
men chamber a two-axis translation stage including a vertical piezoele
ctric translation device was developed. The SFM tip is fixed on a comb
ined lateral and vertical translation stage including a piezoelectric
tube scanner for three-dimensional fine positioning. Thus the instrume
nt enables an easy approach of the SFM tip to any optically identified
cell structure. The head stage of the patch-clamp electronics and the
patch pipette are directly fixed on the specimen stage. This prevents
relative movements between patched cells and patch pipette during the
approach to the SFM tip. The three-axis positioning of the patch pipe
tte is done by a compact hydraulic manipulator. With this combined set
up, subcellular structures can be identified on living cells with the
video microscope and simultaneously investigated with the SFM and the
patch-clamp pipette. The features of the instrument are demonstrated w
ith preparations of cultivated neuronal cells. Simultaneous measuremen
ts of ion current and force in organotypic cultures of mechanosensitiv
e hair cells of the inner ear are proposed, as investigations of cell
tissue preparations of up to 400 mu m thickness are possible with this
instrument. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.