Investigation of Celluar Movements by Magetometry and Microscopic Picture Processing

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Intracelluar motility of cells (hamster alveolar macrophages) have been studied by magnetometry and by microscopic image processing. Ferrimagnetic particles were introduced into the macro phages through phabocytosis. The particles, when aligned in one direction by an external field, produce a weak remanent field (RMF) around the cells. The RMF decays with time (relaxation) due to the misaligement of the organelles containing the particles. The randomization of the orientation of the partiles is thus caused by intracelluar movements of organelles and filamentous structures within the cell. Methods have been developed to investigate the intracelluar motility and physical properties of the cytoplasm by this magnetic measurements. The results so far obtained yield the relationship between the intracellualr concentration of ATP and the energy responsible for the relaxation of RMF. The effects of temperature was also studied. The results suggest that the method can be a good probe for studying intracelluar activities of cells in intact situations. We especially hope that this method may be utilized to investigate the mechanisms in which the hydrolysis of ATP moves the filaments. Microscopic image processing was studied to obtain clearer images of magnetic particles within the cells than avaliable by direct obaservaytion or photography of microscopic images. Our approach is to interage the chatacteristics of the optical system (microscope) with computer processing of the images. For the puepose, basic research of the three-dimensional properties of microscopic imaging was done ad well as implenetation of three-dimensional deconbolution. Althught the orginal purpose of this study was within a rather narrow angle, the results we have obtained anf well obtain in the neasr future are more basic and general than we had anticipated. Therefore, we will continue this part of the research more of less independently of the motility sutdies of the cell.