Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Determination of Dry Mass, Thickness, Solid and Water Concentration in Living Cells

Abstract

IN previous communications it has been shown that the measurement of phase change by interference microscopy can be used for determining the dry mass of living cells1, and the measurement of refractive index enables the concentration of solids and water to be calculated2. The combination of these techniques gives a method of measuring the thickness and hence the volume of living cells.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Barer, R., Nature, 169, 366 (1952).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Barer, R., and Ross, K. F. A., J. Physiol., 118, 38P (1952). Barer, R., Ross, K. F. A., and Tkaczyk, S., Nature, 171, 720 (1953).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BARER, R. Determination of Dry Mass, Thickness, Solid and Water Concentration in Living Cells. Nature 172, 1097–1098 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/1721097a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1721097a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing