Opportunities provided by use of Atomic Force Microscopy for studying Invertebrates hemocytes in training biology students

Abstract

Abstract Atomic Force Microscopy provides for probing of cellular characteristics, such as elasticity of cell membranes, adhesion between the probe and the sample, microrelief of cell surfaces, and linear dimensions of cells, including their height. In our study we utilized Atomic Force Microscopy to measure physical parameters of blood cells of invertebrates within the framework of the process of education of biology students. In order to measure elasticity and adhesion, we used an Atomic Force Microscope Integra Vita NT-MDT, and cells were scanned in semi-contact mode. We used NSG3 (NT-MDT) silicon tips with hardness of 1.4 N/m, curvature radius of 10 nm. Young’s modulus describes elastic properties of the cell membrane. For hemocytes of invertebrates, this parameter computed at different points of the same cell varied significantly. The difference between the greatest and the smallest values suggests that computation of mean elasticity for hemocytes of invertebrates is not informative. It is a well-known fact that Young’s moduli computed for central and peripheral portions of a cell are different, and, thus, in this study the values were grouped by their location. The experiment revealed no difference between elastic properties of central and peripheral portions of blood cells of invertebrates.