You have isolated a stubborn clump of cells (e. g., by grinding up a tissue sample) that refuses to dissociate completely. When you examine the clump of cells under the microscope, you see cells that are in contact with one another, but you can observe extracellular matrix (ECM) in the sample as well. Therefore, you ask yourself: are the cells primarily attached to each other or are the cells primarily attached to the ECM? How can you determine which is the case? a. Buffers containing calcium and buffers containing a chemical that removes calcium (called EGTA)
b. Buffers containing dilute detergents
c. Buffers containing powerful proteases that degrade any proteins or protein domains in the extracellular space
d. Buffers containing antibodies that bind to and disrupt specific cell adhesion molecules