Zinc uptake by brain cells: `surface' versus `bulk'

Abstract

The uptake of zinc by cerebellar rat cultures upon exposure to ZnCl 2 solutions was comparatively investigated using two well known condensed matter physics techniques: synchrotron photoelectron spectromicroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The objective was to apply a strategy-well known in surface physics-to distinguish between 'surface' and 'bulk' phenomena. The results clearly demonstrate that exposure significantly enhances the bulk (cell cytoplasm) Zn concentration with respect to the physiological level, whereas the effect on the surface (cell membrane) is negligible.

Photoemission analysis of chemical differences between the membrane and cytoplasm of neuronal cells

“…At the end of the growth period all the cultures were washed and pre-fixed for 30 s with 0.4% glutaraldehyde in phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS). Further details on the specimen preparation can be found in [3][4][5].…”

“…Experimental methods of surface physics have recently been applied with increasing success in biophysics [1][2][3][4][5]. In particular, the spatial resolution of x-ray photoemission and absorption has reached the sub-micrometre range required to investigate the local chemistry of biological samples [1,2].…”

“…In particular, the spatial resolution of x-ray photoemission and absorption has reached the sub-micrometre range required to investigate the local chemistry of biological samples [1,2]. This improvement, therefore, has expanded the application domain of conventional spectroscopic techniques, including for example the observation of toxic and physiological elements in biological systems [3][4][5].…”

New Possibilities Opened by Synchrotron Spectromicroscopy in Neurobiology

“…Among all the elements studied in neurobiological systems, we present here zinc [11]. The surface sensitivity of spectromicroscopy is usually considered as a limit of this technique.…”