Chemical Imaging and Analysis of Single Nerve Cells by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Cellular Electrochemistry

• A nerve cell is a unit of neuronal communication in the nervous system and is a heterogeneous molecular structure, which is highly mediated to accommodate cellular functions. Understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms of neural communication at the single cell level requires analytical techniques with high sensitivity, specificity, and spatial resolution. Challenging technologies for chemical imaging and analysis of nerve cells will be described in this review. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) allows for non-targeted and targeted molecular imaging of nerve cells and synapses at subcellular resolution. Cellular electrochemistry is well-suited for quantifying the amount of reactive chemicals released from living nerve cells. These techniques will also be discussed regarding multimodal imaging approaches that have recently been shown to be advantageous for the understanding of structural and functional relationships in the nervous system. This review aims to provide an insight into the strengths, limitations, and potentials of these technologies for synaptic and neuronal analyses.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

neurons

synapses

single cells

SIMS

mass spectrometry imaging

electrochemistry

NanoSIMS

capacitance measurements

phospholipid alterations

presynaptic

capacitance

transmitter release

dopamine neurons

vesicle release

in-vitro

time

exocytosis

voltammetry

Neurosciences & Neurology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)