Using surface plasmon resonance imaging to probe dynamic interactions between cells and extracellular matrix.

Spatially resolved details of the interactions of cells with a fibronectin modified surface were examined using surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI). SPRI is a label-free technique that is based on the spatial measurement of interfacial refractive index. SPRI is sensitive to short range interactions between cells and their substratum. The high contrast in SPR signal between cell edges and substratum facilitates identification of cell edges and segmentation of cell areas. With this novel technique, we demonstrate visualization of cell-substratum interactions, and how cell-substratum interactions change over time as cells spread, migrate, and undergo membrane ruffling.