How The Cells Are Studied ?

Cell Classification :
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic (contain a nucleus)
Cell Structure :
Cell is the smallest unit of tissues and organs.


Level of St udying Cell :

Type of Cell Study :
a. Cell structure: microscopic examination (various types)
b. Cellular life/phenomena: cell/tissue culture
c. Cell organelles: cell fractionation
d. Cell membrane: patch clamping
e. Biomolecules: column chromatography, electrophoresis (protein), pulse chase
experiments, recombinant DNA technology.

Approaches :
Looking at the structure of cells in the microscope
Isolating cells and growing them in the culture. Cell culture is a powerful investigate
tool that has played a key role in our elucidation of how cells work and how cells
interact with another. By manipulating the culture medium, investigators can ask
questions about what growth factors and hormones drive differentiation events.
Fractionation of cells and analysis of their molecules. To elucidate how the cells
work, it is necessary to purify the individual cellular constituents. This involves lysing
cells and using anything of several different purification procedures to isolate fully
functional organelles, enzymes, and proteins. The information that is obtained from
these analyses provides important clues to how cellular component function.
Tracing and assaying molecules inside cells.
Electrophoresis permits the size of a protein to be calculated. Electrophoresis is a
very powerful means for determining the size and subunit composition of protein.
Patch Clamping is used to study membrane channels. In this study, a fine
micropipette is placed against the surface of cell, and a slight vacuum, which causes a
small piece of the plasma membrane to be torn away from the surface of the cell, is
applied to the tip of the micropipette. This patch of membrane, with its associated ion
channels, remains firmly attached to the tip of the pipette, and the movement of ions
through the individual channels in the membrane can be measured.