[Use of the effect of impaired complete internal reflection for studying the adhesion of animal cells to glass. III. Measurement of the refractive index of hyaloplasm and determination of the distance between cell membrane surface and glass].

The kinetics of form change (flattening) of Chinese hamster fibroblast cell surface facing the glass has been studied during attachment of fibroblasts to the glass using the effect of frustrated total reflection. Two stages of the process were shown to exist. The first one is characterized by a rapid (5 min) partial flattening and requires no serum in the medium. The second stage occurs only in the presence of serum in the medium, it lasts no longer than one hour and ends in a complete flattening. After the second stage is completed, spreaded cells appear.