Characterization and imaging of single cells with scanning electrochemical microscopy

This article reviews the applications of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) with ultramicroelectrode (UME) as a probe for characterization and imaging of single living cells. The permeation of cell membranes of several redox species was quantitatively estimated from the SECM measurements of the species in the vicinity region of the cells. The rates for the oxygen generation by photosynthesis and the oxygen consumption by respiration were determined for the detailed analysis of localized oxygen concentration around single cells. The images for photosynthetic and respiration activities were obtained with SECM based on the oxygen reduction current. A dual-microdisk electrode was used for simultaneous imaging based on electroactive species to characterize single cells.