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

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深远的影响。它们包括生长、分化和凋亡。基因表达、粘附和信号转导。因此，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，以及细胞是如何表现出这些变化的，是很重要的。尽管在理解这些问题方面取得了进展，但仍然存在一个重大挑战-在细胞和亚细胞水平上对细胞力反应进行定量评估。在工程领域，机械部件的小型化正在掀起一场革命，由此产生了微机电系统（MEMS）领域。我们（UIUC和哈佛医学院）对生物mems传感器的初步实验表明，局部机械变形可以应用于单个细胞和胚胎，并且它们的力响应可以定量测量。这些实验证明了一类新型微型仪器的潜力，它们可能会在细胞力学、机械转导、组织工程、药物发现和癌症研究方面带来根本性的突破。哈佛医学院的Donald Ingber教授将担任该项目的顾问。这个项目是高度多学科的。它将微系统工程与细胞生物学相结合。工科学生将在细胞培养、细胞操作、利用荧光技术对细胞骨架结构进行高级成像以及微加工和微力学等方面获得丰富的经验。该项目有趣的实验结果将呈现给机械工程和生物学专业的本科生。Bio-MEMS实验视频也将呈现给UIUC校园内的大学高中，这是由美国国家科学基金会通过REU计划支持的P1当前项目。

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.