Calcium in Living Cells

Every cell of the body is dependent on calcium to function. Calcium is found in teeth and bones, and calcium signalling is necessary for the movement of muscles and for the action of the heart and the intestines as well as blood coagulation. This volume will update classic techniques in detecting microscopic levels of calcium ions (Ca2+) in living cells, as well as address new techniques in the field of calcium detection and calcium signaling. Such detection and measurement of intracellular calcium is important to researchers studying the heart, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and immune systems, whose findings will aid in the advancement of drug and genomic therapies to treat heart, gastrointestinal, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. This title gives researchers much needed information on how to study calcium in live cells, which is becoming increasingly important in heart, musculoskeletal, and immune system research. It provides an overview of the latest methods - fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), for example - that are new to the field. It allows understanding of how calcium plays a role in intracellular function at the cellular level, which has proved important in Alzheimer's research, heart disease, and areas of musculoskeletal research. The updated chapters reflect advancements in the classic techniques used for preparing calcium buffers, vibrating the Ca2+ Electrode and confocal imaging.