Latest Advances in Scanning Ion-Conductance Microscopy and Nanopipette Systems for Single-Cell Analysis under Serial Conditions

Abstract

Studying single cells opens opportunities for understanding many biological processes and, as a consequence, plays an important role in the development of biomedicine. Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM) and nanopipette systems for the analysis of single cells represent a powerful tool for investigating the morphological, mechanical, and biochemical features of living cells with nanometer spatial resolution under near-natural conditions. Over the last decades, SICM has shown great success in studying and manipulating single cells, and the non-contact nature of the system, combined with the unique features of nanopipettes used as probes, has opened new possibilities for the application of such systems in biomedical applications. This review reflects the latest trends and directions in the development of SICM and nanopipette systems for the single-cell analysis.