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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Fabricating Optical-quality Glass Surfaces to Study Macrophage Fusion
Published on: March 14, 2018
Fabricating Optical-quality Glass Surfaces to Study Macrophage Fusion
James J Faust1, Wayne Christenson2, Kyle Doudrick3
1Center for Metabolic and Vascular Biology, Mayo Clinic; Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University; james.j.faust@vanderbilt.edu.
Abstract:
Visualizing the formation of multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) from living specimens has been challenging due to the fact that most live imaging techniques require propagation of light through glass, but on glass macrophage fusion is a rare event. This protocol presents the fabrication of several optical-quality glass surfaces where adsorption of compounds containing long-chain hydrocarbons transforms glass into a fusogenic surface. First, preparation of clean glass surfaces as starting material for surface modification is described. Second, a method is provided for the adsorption of compounds containing long-chain hydrocarbons to convert non-fusogenic glass into a fusogenic substrate. Third, this protocol describes fabrication of surface micropatterns that promote a high degree of spatiotemporal control over MGC formation. Finally, fabricating glass bottom dishes is described. Examples of use of this in vitro cell system as a model to study macrophage fusion and MGC formation are shown.
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