This year Prof. Gunther Wittstock from Oldenburg and Prof. Wolfgang Schuhmann from Bochum, two true experts in the field of scanning electrochemistry microscopy (SECM) will hold an online tutorial at the ISE annual meeting with the title
“Solving research problems by means of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and related techniques”
The online meeting will consist of online lectures, poster sessions and tutorials.
31st August – 4th September
(The exact time of the tutorial is not yet fixed)
Deadline for registration is 31st of July.
The registration for ISE members is FREE and for non-members it cost 50€ above 30 years and 15€ below 30 years.
Register to take this opportunity and learn everything about SECM that you always wanted to know!
The regulation of intracellular redox microenvironment is of immense importance for the homeostasis of cells. The mechanical microenvironment plays a key role in the regulation of the phenotype and function of cardiac cells, which are strongly associated with the intracellular redox mechanism of cardiomyocytes. Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant intracellular nonprotein thiol and functions as one of the most important endogenous antioxidants in cells. Under normal physiological conditions, intracellular chemical microenvironment is maintained in a relatively reduced state due to a higher GSH concentration than that of glutathione disulfide (GSSG). the relationship between the redox state of cardiomyocytes and their mechanical microenvironment remains elusive.
The Li Lab at the BEBC at Xi’an Jiaotong University investigated the influence of the mechanical microenvironment on the redox state of single cardiomyocytes in situ by SECM. The redox state was studied by quantifying the GSH level of living cardiomyocytes at single-cell level. Different mechanical microenvironments were simulated using polyacrylamide (PA) gels of different stiffness as the substrate. SECM depth scans were recorded and aprroach curves extracted to obtain rate constants kf for the reaction of the redox mediator FcCOOH and GSH which are a direct measure of GSH levels.
It was shown that stiffer substrates induce a more oxidative state of the cardiomyocytes compared to the softer substrates. This result can contribute to understand the effect of mechanical factors on the cell’s redox mechanism, such as the myocardial fibrosis caused overaccumulation of ECM.
SECM proved to be a sensitive, label-free and in situ technique for the investigation of redox state in single-cells.
HEKA’s ElProScan ELP 3 provides the ideal conditions for working with live single cells. The inverted microscope allows visual control of the cells and exact positioning of the microelectrode and a range of heated stages for working under physiological conditions. The unique depth scan allows the study of concentration profiles above single cells.
The infection of implants poses a common problem. It has been shown that photoactive titanium dioxide coatings can prevent microbial infections by producing free radicals under illumination. Because these free radicals can also damage adjacent cells, it has to ensured that their existence is confined to the implant surface.
The Sant Lab characterized a nitrogen- and self-doped titania coating which produces free hydroxyl radicals upon illumination of the material. Among other characterization techniques the coating was investigated by SECM towards the effects of free radicals on a reducible and oxidizable redox mediator upon irridation in different distances from the coating surface. It could be shown that the existence of free radicals is indeed confined to the vicinity of the surface.
The ElProScan in combination with our acquisition and analysis software POTMASTER allows the creation of complex protocols for automated experiments. The online analysis can display distance-dependent values, e.g. peak currents from a CV while you are still measuring.
The Mauzeroll Lab shows how to gain a deeper understanding of corrosion processes of thermal spray coatings by combining macro electrochemical techniques with localized measurements by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and scanning micropipette contact method (SMCM).
HEKA’s ElProScan fully supports SMCM, a technique where a miniaturized electrochemical cell is formed with a droplet at the tip of a nano- or micropipette. The wetted sample surface functions as working electrode and a Ag/AgCl wire inside the pipette functions as quasi reference/counter electrode. This method provides a unique way for localized measurements, which helped Janine and her group to probe corrosion processes very locally and record Tafel plots at the micron-scale!
HEKA’s Ultra Potentiostats (PG 611 and 618 USB) are the ideal instruments for measuring low currents due to their low noise performance and high current resolution! This allows such challenging localized corrosion studies within these tiny electrochemical cells formed by the droplet.
