Time-lapse observation of cell adhesion by evanescent field imaging technique

The cell adhesion processes were analyzed using total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM). It was observed that when the parallel beam of a light in a medium of lower refractive index strikes an interface with a medium of lower refractive index, it suffers total internal reflection when the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle. It was found that after 1-hr incubation, the number of observed cells was almost constant, while the adhesion area slightly decreased with time of incubation, which suggested the morphological changes of adhered cells. The results demonstrated the utility of total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM) to observe morphological change near the material surface.