Macro-SICM: A Scanning Ion Conductance Microscope for Large-Range Imaging

作者：Schierbaum Nicolas; Hack Martin; Betz Oliver; Schaeffer Tilman E

来源：Analytical Chemistry, 2018, 90(8): 5048-5054.

DOI：10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04764

The scanning ion conductance microscope (SICM) is a versatile, high-resolution imaging technique that uses an electrolyte-filled nanopipet as a probe. Its noncontact imaging principle makes the SICM uniquely suited for the investigation of soft and delicate surface structures in a liquid environment. The SICM has found an ever-increasing number of applications in chemistry, physics, and biology. However, a drawback of conventional SICMs is their relatively small scan range (typically 100 mu m X 100 mu m in the lateral and 10 mu m in the vertical direction). We have developed a Macro-SICM with an exceedingly large scan range of 25 mm X 25 mm in the lateral and 0.25 mm in the vertical direction. We demonstrate the high versatility of the Macro-SICM by imaging at different length scales: from centimeters (fingerprint, coin) to millimeters (bovine tongue tissue, insect wing) to micrometers (cellular, extensions). We applied the Macro-SICM to the study of collective cell migration in epithelial wound healing.

• 出版日期2018-4-17