ИСТИНА

Scanning probe microscopy has become smart enough to study the most sophisticated matter – network of living neurons and nervous matter. At least two techniques have prominent advantages in the visualization of living biological objects – atomic force microscopy and scanning capillary (ion-conductance) microscopy. Environmental conditions (temperature, liquid composition) provide the success of long lasting experimental observations. Advances in scanning capillary microscopy (SCM) in studies of living objects have generated interest in this technique: over its 30 years of existence, more than 300 articles and numerous reviews describing the development of SCM have been published. The growth of dendrites and axons and the dynamics of actin in living cells have been visualized, changes in the volumes of nerve cells during migration have been measured, changes in the structure of the cell membrane during endocytosis of nanoparticles have been studied, the topography and stiffness of living fibroblasts have been assessed, and more. This report reviews recent advances in the observation of living neurons using scanning probe microscopy.