Phagosome crystal structures

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Cells can ingest foreign particles by a process known as phagocytosis. If large numbers of small particles are introduced in this way, they arrange into crystallites.

Cell-assisted assembly of colloidal crystallite

Spatial confinement drives crystallization of colloidal microspheres inside fibroblast cells. Beyond the curiosity of the phenomenon itself, cell-assisted colloidal assembly is a useful tool to study a variety of biophysical processes.

Phagosome crystal structure.


 
The cell membrane visibly extends beyond the area filled with particles. Cell-assisted crystallite assembly occurs for polysterene microspheres ranging from 750 nm to 6 µm in diameter.

External References: 1, http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/cb/Volume/2007/2/cell_structure_made_crystal_clear.asp 2,Cell-assisted assembly of colloidal crystallites , Soft matter DOI: 10.1039/B611022n .

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