Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Determining the organization of key molecules on the surface of live cells in two dimensions and how this changes during biological processes, such as signalling, is a major challenge in cell biology and requires methods with nanoscale spatial resolution and high temporal resolution. Here, we review biophysical tools, based on scanning ion conductance microscopy and single-molecule fluorescence and the combination of both of these methods, which have recently been developed to address these issues. We then give examples of how these methods have been be applied to provide new insights into cell membrane organization and function, and discuss some of the issues that will need to be addressed to further exploit these methods in the future.

Original publication

DOI

10.1098/rstb.2012.0027

Type

Journal article

Journal

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

Publication Date

05/02/2013

Volume

368

Keywords

Cell Biology, Cell Membrane, Cell Tracking, Clathrin, Clusterin, Endocytosis, Fluorescence, Humans, Macromolecular Substances, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Protein Interaction Mapping, Protein Transport, Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell