Non-invasive imaging of stem cells by scanning ion conductance microscopy: future perspective.

The most valuable property of stem cells (SCs) is their potential to differentiate into many or all cell types of the body. So far, monitoring SC differentiation has only been possible after cells were fixed or destroyed during sample preparation. It is, however, important to develop nondestructive methods of monitoring SCs. Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) is a unique imaging technique that uses similar principles to the atomic force microscope, but with a pipette for the probe. This allows scanning of the surface of living cells noninvasively and enables measurement of cellular activities under more physiological conditions than is possible with other high-resolution microscopy techniques. We report here the novel use of the SICM for studying SCs to assess and monitor the status of SCs and various cell types differentiated from SCs.