methods of studying cell slides Flashcards
what is cell culture
where cells are grown to be studied on their behaviour
why are incubators used on cell cultures
to mimic physiological conditions/ body temps
what are the 4 stages in cell growth
lag, log, stationary, death
what is the lag phase of cell growth
where cells are slow growing
what is the log phase of cell growth
where cells grow exponentially and double
what is the stationary phase of the cell cycle
where cell culture is confluent, cell growth slows down/stops
what is the death stage of cell growth
when the cell begins to die and detach from the surface of the culture dish
what is transfection
the introduction of nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) of interest into the cell to produce genetically modified cell model
what does transient mean
that something is not long lasting or stable, ( if the inserted dna is rejected then the transfection is classed as transient)
what does stable mean in relation to transfection of cells
it means that the foreign code DNA that was inserted into the cell is continually being included, so the transfection is seen as stable
why are disease models used in transfection
to study the molecular mechanisms of disease
what are the two types of light microscope
compound and inverted
what is the role of the condenser part of a microscope
they’re lenses that collect and focus light from the illuminator to the specimen
what are the two types of electron microscope
transmission electron microscopes and scanning electron microscopes
how do electron microscopes work
by firing electrons at a sample
does the TEM or the SEM produce 3D images
The SEM
why are cells dyed
some are to get a better view of the whole cell others are to see a bigger contrast between elements of a cell
what is flow cytometry
a method of studying cells in fluid
how does flow cytometry work
cells are initially labelled with a fluorescent dye, then they’re forced through a nozzle in a single cell stream till they pass through a laser, this causes the excitation o fa specific fluorescence
how are fluorescence readings measured
when the cell passes through the laser light is scattered to the front and to the side, this returns as 2 readings FS and SS
what does FS stand for in terms of fluorescence readings
cell size
what does SS stand for in terms of fluorescence readings
is proportional to the granularity of the cells
what are the flow cytometry readings for granulocytes
they’re larger and in high numbers producing a large population with high side scatter and forward scatter
what are the flow cytometry readings for monocytes
large cells, not very granular, high FS, low SS
what are the flow cytometry readings for lymphocytes
small, not very granular so low FS and LOW SS
