MEASUREMENT OF ADHESION AND SPREADING KINETICS OF BABY HAMSTER-KIDNEYAND HYBRIDOMA CELLS USING AN INTEGRATED OPTICAL METHOD

A novel optical method was used for quantitative characterization and continuous measurement of both the adhesion and spreading of mammalian cells on inorganic surfaces. It is based upon the effective refractiv e index change caused by cells when they adhere to a planar optical wa veguide. We have applied this technique to measure the kinetics of the adhesion and spreading processes of baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells a dhering to surfaces coated with fibronectin and under different cultur e conditions (PBS, medium, serum, EDTA). In comparison, hybridoma cell s are only adsorbed to the surface and do not spread at all. Moreover, this technique also allows the mass of an adsorbed protein adlayer to be determined very precisely and thus provides a valuable tool for sc reening suitable substrata as well as determining the influence of dif ferent culture conditions on cell adhesion and spreading. This sensiti ve test for substrate influence could be important in toxicity tests u sing adherent animal cells.