![]() ![]() Instead of providing just the “snapshot” of a cell’s current state, live-cell imaging transforms snapshots to movies, allowing for the visualization and quantification of dynamic cellular processes in real-time and over time. To obtain more biologically relevant data, imaging over time, also known as time-lapse imaging, is essential. ![]() Despite these advantages, imaging data obtained using fixed cells are not representative of actual cell behavior and characteristics of a living system. They can be preserved in the original condition for months or years by simply mounting on a cover slip, allowing greater ease for imaging and detailed analysis. Compared to live cells, fixed cells are easier to prepare and stain. cellular membrane lipids can be effectively removed to provide access to large molecules such as antibodies. To detect intracellular antigens, cells can be also permeabilized post-fixation, i.e. Although cells die during physical and chemical fixation, their shape, contents, broad patterns, networks, and proteins are mostly conserved for imaging purposes. Traditional static imaging tools involve “fixation” of cells and tissues so that cellular/tissue components are preserved in a “life-like state”. While “fixed cells” are representative of static cells that remain unchanged over time, “live cells” represent dynamic cells that move and change over time3. In cellular imaging, two major paradigms exist: i)static imaging with “fixed cells” and ii)dynamic imaging with “live cells”. What are the advantages of studying living cells over fixed cells? In recent years, live-cell imaging has become a requisite analytical tool for addressing important questions in several areas of biological and biomedical sciences including cancer research, neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology, and pharmacology1-2. It is a powerful imaging approach that provides spatiotemporal changes of subcellular events in real-time, thus providing deeper insights into cellular structure and functions. Live-cell imaging, as the name suggests, is a technique, whereby the cells are imaged when they are alive, typically in the growth medium. Background and Overview What is live-cell imaging? ![]()
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