Clear Images of Neuronal Cells Cultured on a Plasmonic Dish Observed with the Inverted Fluorescence Microscope

Abstract

A plasmonic chip, a periodic structure coated with thin metal films, was fabricated [1] and it was developed to the plasmonic dish by combining with a cell cultivation dish. The plasmonic chip can provide an enhanced electric field based on the grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GC-SPR) [2] and therefore, the enhanced fluorescence can be detected. In our previous talk, a plasmonic dish fabricated was applied to the cultivation of neuronal cells and the bright epi-fluorescence images of neurons were observed with the upright fluorescence microscope. In this study, the clear epi-fluorescence images of neuron dendrites cultivated on the plasmonic dish were observed with an inverted fluorescence microscope [3].