BioMEMS based micro instrumentation for in-situ quantitative investigations of adhesion, structural mechanics and mechanotransduction of single living cells and Embryos

基于 BioMEMS 的微型仪器，用于单个活细胞和胚胎的粘附、结构力学和力传导的原位定量研究

• 批准号: 0118003
• 负责人: Taher Saif
• 金额: $ 23.99万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0118003&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: BioMEMS; based; micro; instrumentation; situ

There is increasing experimental evidence suggesting that extracellular and intracellular mechanical forces have a profound influence on a wide range of cell behavior. They include growth, differentiation, apoptosis. gene expression, adhesion and signal transduction. Thus it is important to understand how the mechanical forces are transmitted into the cell and what corresponding molecular changes do they initiate, and how do cells exhibit such changes. Although advances have been made towards understanding such questions, a significant challenge remains- quantitative evaluation of cell force response at a cellular and subcellular level. In the engineering world, a revolution is underway through miniaturization of mechanical components, giving rise to the field of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). Our (UIUC and Harvard Medical School) preliminary experiments with bio-MEMS sensors show that local mechanical deformation can be applied on single cells and embryos, and their force response can be measured quantitatively. The experiments have demonstrated the potential of a new class of microinstruments that may lead to fundamental breakthroughs in the understanding of cellular mechanics, mechanotransduction, tissue engineering, drug discovery and cancer research. Professor Donald Ingber of Harvard Medical school will serve as the consultant to this project.The project is highly multidisciplinary. It merges micro systems' engineering with cellular biology. The engineering students will gain extensive experience with cell culture, cell manipulation, advanced imaging of cytoskeletal structures using florescenece techniques, as well as micro fabrication and micro mechanics. Interesting experimental results from the project will be presented to undergraduate students in mechanical engineering and biology. Videos of experiments with Bio-MEMS will also be presented to the University High School on UIUC campus - a current project of the P1 supported by NSF through REU program.

越来越多的实验证据表明，细胞外和细胞内的机械力对广泛的细胞行为有着深远的影响。它们包括生长、分化、凋亡。基因表达、粘附和信号转导。因此，重要的是要了解机械力是如何传递到细胞中的，它们引发了哪些相应的分子变化，以及细胞如何表现出这些变化。虽然已经取得了进展，对理解这些问题，仍然是一个重大的挑战-定量评价细胞力反应在细胞和亚细胞水平。在工程领域，通过机械部件的小型化正在进行一场革命，从而产生了微机电系统（MEMS）领域。我们（UIUC和哈佛医学院）用生物MEMS传感器进行的初步实验表明，可以对单细胞和胚胎施加局部机械变形，并且可以定量测量它们的力响应。这些实验证明了一种新型微型仪器的潜力，它可能导致对细胞力学、机械传导、组织工程、药物发现和癌症研究的理解方面的根本突破。哈佛医学院的Donald Ingber教授将担任该项目的顾问。该项目是高度多学科的。它将微系统工程学与细胞生物学相结合。工程专业的学生将获得细胞培养，细胞操作，使用荧光技术的细胞骨架结构的先进成像，以及微加工和微机械的丰富经验。该项目的有趣实验结果将提交给机械工程和生物学专业的本科生。Bio-MEMS实验的视频也将提交给UIUC校园的大学高中-这是NSF通过REU计划支持的P1当前项目。