Development and implementation of scanning ion conductance microscope

High-resolution imaging of living cell at the micro-/nano-scale is important for life science research. It may help to observe biological activities of cells, and to detect cell responses to external stimuli and even movements of some protein molecules in cell membranes. However, there have not been effective methods to realize such objectives yet. Scanning ion conductance microscope (SICM) has been widely applied in many fields and is receiving increasing attention due to its non-contact, force-free, and high-resolution imaging features. Herein, a design of SICM, including hardware integration and scanning algorithms, was introduced from the point of view of system firstly;then the feasibility and effectiveness of the system was evaluated through comparison of PDMS gratings measurements by SICM and AFM;finally, in situ experiments of living-cell imaging in physiological environment had been carried out, and the topography of living neuro-2A cell had been successfully obtained. The well-established scanning ion conductance microscope will provide an effective tool for investigating functional mechanism and microstructure on the surface of living biological samples.