Living Microscopy

Courtesy of ibidi

Munich-based ibidi (Integrated BioDiagnostics, http://www.ibidi.de) has developed a line of disposable plastic perfusion slides, called μ-Slides, that enable both culturing and high-resolution microscopy of live cells. Cells immobilized in a channel can be perfused and then followed directly via live-cell imaging in real time. The slides require no assembly, minimizing the risk of contamination. Moreover, they are made of gas-permeable plastic, thus allowing cell proliferation and in situ experiments without cell transfer.

Currently nine slide types are available, including five models that are all-in-one flow-through slides with a coverslip-like bottom. Both single- and multichannel slides are available, as is a slide designed for solid-phase ELISAs that allows the study of protein-protein interactions with as little as 15 μm of reagent per channel. A Y-shaped μ-Slide enables the visualization of plaque formation at vessel branching points. "Currently, we are working on a μ-Slide for chemotaxis applications," says...