2. Cell Fractionation + microscopy Flashcards
define cell fractionation
a technique which allows scientists to study the functions of organelles
Separating out all of the different organelles/components
define homogenisation
Homogenise means to break up the tissue and break open the cells
what is ultracentrifugation
ultracentrifugation is the process by which the fragments in the filtered homogenate are separated in a machine called a centrifuge
what does the centrifuge do
spins tubes of homogenate at very high speeds to produce a centrifugal force
this force causes homogenate to separate
describe homogenisation
In the first stage, take a sample of tissue containing the cells that we are interested in e.g. heart muscle tissue
Next, homogenise the tissue
Homogenise means to break up the tissue and break open the cells
note: the ER is a very large organelle - but this tends to get broken up during homogenisation
This can be done in a blender
Or we can use a homogeniser ( a glass tube containing a plunger)
Place the tissue sample into the glass tube
Cover with a buffer solution
Buffers keep the pH constant
This is important because if the pH changes, enzymes in the cells organelles could denature ||(COULD ALTER STRUCTURE OF ORGANELLES OR AFFECT THE FUNCTIONING OF ENZYMES)
The water potential of the buffer is the same as inside the cell
This prevents water from moving into the organelles by osmosis and causing them to burst
PREVENT ORGANELLES BURSTING OR SHRINKING AS A RESULT OF OSMOTIC GAIN OR LOSS OF WATER
The homogeniser is then placed on ice
Cooling the sample means that enzymes work more slowly, preventing any destructive enzymes from damaging the organelles REDUCE ENZYME ACTIVITY THAT MIGHT BREAK DOWN THE ORGANELLES
Now push the plunger up and down, to disrupt the tissue and break open the cells
This produces a cell homogenate
The cell homogenate contains all the organelles that we find in the cell
what does the cell homogenate contain
The cell homogenate contains all the organelles that we find in the cell
contains all of the organelles which we would find in a cell
what needs to be done to find out what the organelles in the cell homogenate do
In order to find out what these organelles do, we need to separate them
describe cell fractionation
This produces a cell homogenate
The cell homogenate contains all the organelles that we find in the cell
In order to find out what these organelles do, we need to separate them (in order to understand this, we need to look at relative sizes of different organelles - nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes, ribosomes)
Separating out all of the different organelles is called fractionation
ultracentrifugation
This is carried out using a machine called a centrifuge
1) We place the tubes containing the filtered cell homogenate into the sample holder of the centrifuge
2)The centrifuge now spins the sample
The organelles are flung , forced towards the bottom of the tube by the forces generated
Larger organelles…
3)First we start with a relatively low speed spin.
the tube looks like this (at the end of the spin)
https://cdn.savemyexams.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=1920,f=auto/uploads/2021/02/Cell-fractionation-stages-3.png - first picture
4) As the centrifuge spins, the larger organelles/heaviest such as the nuclei are flung, forced to the bottom of the tube by the forces generated forming a pellet (pellet containing nuclei)
5) Larger organelles (with a greater mass) such as the nucleus experience a greater force and move towards the bottom of the tube faster than the smaller organelles
6) The remaining organelles stay suspended in the liquid. This liquid is called the supernatant.
Now transfer the supernatant into a new tube, and centrifuge this at a higher speed
After the higher speed spin, the heaviest organelles (which are now mitochondria) now are forced to the bottom of the test tube and form pellet now contains mitochondria
process is repeated at higher and higher speeds untill all organelles are separated out. each time, the pellet at the bottom of the tube is made up of lighter and lighter organelles
Once again, transfer the supernatant to a new tube and centrifuge again at a higher speed. After this spin, the pellet now contains lysosomes
Take the supernatant one more time and transfer this to another tube for a final very high speed spin.
After this spin, the pellet now contains ribosomes
At this point, all of the organelles have been separated by size
Now we can test each fraction to determine how the organelles work
note: in plant cells the chloroplasts come after the nuclei but before the mitochondria
the order in which organelles are separated out - they are separated out in order of mass -from heaviest to lightest: nuclei, mitochondria, lysosomes, ER, ribosomes
Additional points about cell fractionation
Additional - we need to keep the pellets on ice until we use them. this is to slow down enzymes which might damage the organelles
it is extremely difficult to separate the organelles fully e.g. the mitochondrial fraction might contain a very small number of nuclei and lysosomes
Also there are other organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus which might be present in your fractions
How are the organelles separated in ultracentrifugation
In ultracentrifugation, the organelles are separated in order of mass - from lightest to heaviest
describe what was happening after each spin
Each time, the pellet at the bottom is made from lighter and lighter organelles
what is a micrometre
1 x 10-6 metre
1 mm is how many micrometres
1 mm = 1000 micrometre
nanometre size
1 x 10-9 metre
1 micrometre = how many nanometres
1 micrometre = 1000 nanometres
Advantage of using light microscopes compared to other microscopes
Light microscopes can be used on living cells - we can look at living cells
This means that we can explore processes such as cell division or movement of cells / chromosomes moving during mitosis
Disadvantage of using light microscopes compared to other microscopes
Sometimes a stain needs to be used (before viewing the cell - to help see the cell) - and these can kill cells
poor Resolution - this is due to the nature of light
the wavelength of visible light is around 400nm to 700 nm
if two objects are closer than 200nm (limit of resolution for a standard light microscope) then we cannot see them
resolution of light microscope 200nm—
because… wavelength of visible light is simply too large to allow us to resolve objects closer than that
In conventional light microscopy, light passes through the sample
when trying to view certain parts of the cell which are further away, the light that we see will already have passed through the parts of the cell before reaching what you’re actually trying to view - makes the image blurred and resolution even worse than it could be
define resolution
The minimum distance between two objects where they can still be seen as two separate objects
the ability to distinguish between two separate objects
describe how laser scanning confocal microscopy works
In laser scanning confocal microscopy, a laser is used to scan the object that we are interested in
This allows us to view a very precise layer of the object
This means that the image produced by laser scanning confocal microscopy has a higher resolution than conventional light microscopy
using laser scanning confocal microscopy we can produce
describe the advantages of laser scanning confocal microscopy over conventional light microscopy
In laser scanning confocal microscopy, a laser is used to scan the object that we are interested in
This allows us to view a very precise layer of the object
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This means that the image produced by laser scanning confocal microscopy has a higher resolution than conventional light microscopy
using laser scanning confocal microscopy we can produce three dimensional images of cells
we can visualise specific proteins and structures within the cell and watch them move.
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this technique also allows us to tag specific proteins and structures within cells by using special dyes and antibodies
with laser scanning confocal microscopy we can watch proteins moving around living cells
This helps us to work out the functions of those proteins
formula for magnification
magnification = size of image / size of real object
scale bar = 10mm which represents 1 micrometre
nucleus = 63 mm
work out actual size of nucleus
scale bar = 10mm
nucleus = 63mm
63/10 = 6.3
means that the nucleus is 6.3 times the length of the scale bar
1 micrometre x 6.3 = 6.3 micrometres
always do organelle / scale bar
scale bar = 37mm
mitochondrion = 21 mm
scale bar represents 2 micrometres
work out actual size of mitochondria
scale bar = 37 mm
mitochondrion = 21mm
21/37 = 0.57
means that the mitochondrion is 0.57 times the length of the scale bar
0.57 x 2 micrometres = 1.14
object size of mitochondrion = 0.8 micrometres
length = 30mm
work out magnification
magnification = size of image / size of real object
= 30,000 / 0.8 = 37,500 x
