Cell isolation

Cell isolation is the process of separating individual living cells from a solid block of tissue or cell suspension.  While some types of cell naturally exist in a separated form (for example blood cells), other cell types that are found in solid tissue require specific techniques to separate them into individual cells. This may be performed by using enzymes to digest the proteins that binds these cells together within the extracellular matrix. After the matrix proteins have been digested, cells remain loosely bound together but can be gently separated mechanically.  Following isolation, experiments can be performed on these single isolated cells including patch clamp electrophysiology, calcium fluorescence imaging, and immunocytochemistry.