Kaczmarczyk Olga, Augustyniak Daria, Żak Andrzej
Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, 51-148 Wroclaw, Poland.
ACS Nano. 2025 Apr 8;19(13):12710-12733. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5c00871. Epub 2025 Mar 29.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is well-known for performing in situ studies in the nanoscale. Hence, scientists took this opportunity to explore the subtle processes occurring in living organisms. Nevertheless, such observations are complex─they require delicate samples kept in the liquid phase, low electron dose, and proper cell viability verification methods. Despite being highly demanding, so-called "live-cell" experiments have seen some degree of success. The presented review consists of an exhaustive literature review on reported "live-cell" studies and associated subjects, including liquid phase imaging, electron radiation interactions with liquids, and methods for cell viability testing. The challenges of modern, reliable research on living organisms are widely explained and discussed, and future perspectives for developing these techniques are presented.
透射电子显微镜（TEM）以在纳米尺度上进行原位研究而闻名。因此，科学家们借此机会探索活生物体中发生的微妙过程。然而，这样的观察很复杂——它们需要保存在液相中的精细样本、低电子剂量以及合适的细胞活力验证方法。尽管要求很高，但所谓的“活细胞”实验已经取得了一定程度的成功。本综述包括对已报道的“活细胞”研究及相关主题的详尽文献综述，包括液相成像、电子与液体的辐射相互作用以及细胞活力测试方法。文中广泛解释和讨论了对活生物体进行现代可靠研究面临的挑战，并介绍了这些技术的未来发展前景。
