Synopsis
To observe the dynamic response behavior of cells under exposure to nano / micro particles, time-lapse optical microscopic observation method was applied. Though the conventional SEM observation after chemical fixation indicated only static morphological information, this method allows the observation of dynamic cell morphology and functional activity. The dynamic behavior of cells observed by time-lapse method showed qualitatively a similar tendency to the results obtained by the conventional cytotoxicity test. TiO
2 and ITO nanoparticles showed little effect on cell behavior. Cells in contact with CuO particles showed a decrease in activity. However, cells without contact were as active as control. The activity decrease was observed more rapidly under nanoparticle exposure due to the higher probability of nanoparticles to contact to cells, compared with microparticles in the same concentration. The present experimental method can allow to evaluate the influence of materials on cell function in a dynamical activity state.
Key words: in situ observation, dynamic behavior, cytotoxicity, nanoparticle, osteoblast
