EAPSI: New Method for Characterizing Mechanical Properties of Biological Cells

细胞的力学性质对于组织工程和各种疾病的研究和检测都是极其重要的。为了开发新的方法来修复或替换受损的组织和器官，组织工程的研究人员必须了解单个细胞和组织的力学特性。此外，疾病，如癌症，会影响天然细胞的机械特性。研究这些机械性能的变化可以导致早期检测设备和新的药物输送机制的发展。该项目将开发一种新的方法来表征单个细胞的机械特性。开发的表征技术将提供一种简单、快速和灵活的技术，可以使用市售设备进行。此外，这项新技术将能够表征细胞？的固有频率，一个机械性能，没有目前的测量技术可以确定。这项研究将与名古屋大学微纳米控制和生物机器人实验室的长谷川康久博士及其同事合作进行。长谷川博士？长谷川博士的实验室拥有独特的专业知识和独一无二的设备，这是该项目成功所必需的。的环境扫描电子显微镜（ESEM），一个单一的细胞将粘附到一个功能化的无尖端原子力显微镜（AFM）光束的末端。ESEM可以在真实的时间内视觉验证，只有单个细胞粘附到梁的端部。然后将束-单元组合转移到AFM，其中单元夹在表面和AFM束之间。在这种配置中，频率扫描将产生由单元和梁力学组成的热谱。然后，通过将复杂的数据与之前为孤立的悬臂收集的数据进行比较，可以分离出细胞力学。这个NSF EAPSI奖是与日本科学促进协会合作资助的。

Mechanical properties of cells are extremely important to both tissue engineering and the study and detection of various diseases. In order to develop new ways to repair or replace damaged tissues and organs, researchers in tissue engineering must know the mechanical properties of both individual cells and tissues. Additionally, diseases, like cancer, affect the mechanical properties of native cells. Studying these changes in mechanical properties can lead to the development of early detection devices and new drug delivery mechanisms. This project will develop a new method to characterize the mechanical properties of individual cells. The characterization technique developed will provide a simple, fast, and flexible technique which can be performed using commercially available equipment. Additionally, this new technique will be able to characterize a cell?s natural frequency, a mechanical property which no current measurement technique can determine. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Yasuhisa Hasegawa and his associates in the Micro-Nano Control and Bio-Robotics Laboratory at Nagoya University. Dr. Hasegawa?s lab has the unique expertise and one-of-a-kind equipment necessary for the success of this project.Using the unique nano-manipulation system inside Dr. Hasegawa?s environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), a single cell will be adhered onto the end of a functionalized tip-less atomic force microscope (AFM) beam. The ESEM can visually verify, in real time, only a single cell adheres to the end of the beam. The beam-cell combination is then transferred to an AFM where the cell is sandwiched between a surface and the AFM beam. In this configuration, a frequency sweep will generate a thermal spectrum consisting of both cell and beam mechanics. Cellular mechanics can then be isolated by comparing the convoluted data to data gathered previously for an isolated cantilever. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science.