Design and development of a dielectrophoretic device for cell mechanics

描述(由申请人提供)：细胞力学在不同组织的健康和疾病中发挥着关键作用。然而，我们对细胞机械特性以及细胞如何感知和响应机械环境的理解仍然不完整。研究细胞力学有多种技术，每种技术都有自己的优点和局限性。由于没有一种技术适用于所有的细胞力学分析，因此扩展我们的细胞力学工具箱是很重要的。在这个项目中，我们将开发一种介电泳仪，对单个附着的细胞施加非接触式压力。这项研究背后的假设是，负介电泳法可以用来对单个细胞施加侧向压力，而不需要物理接触。我们将设计一种用于捕获细胞并对其施力的介电泳仪。电场和力场将被建模为二维和三维，一个电极阵列将被设计为同时测试多个单独的电池，该设备将使用微制造技术制造。然后，我们将通过捕获细胞，允许它们附着，并在有和没有完整微管的情况下测量细胞的机械性能来展示设备的有效性。这个项目的成功完成将产生一个独特的装置来扩展我们目前的细胞力学工具箱。对单个附着的不对称细胞施加非接触式压力的能力将提高我们对健康和疾病中的细胞力学的理解。由于该设备与微流控系统相结合，当单个细胞暴露在改变细胞机械性能的环境因素(细胞因子、流体流动)中时，它可以进一步用于同时和动态测试单个细胞。介电电泳式细胞力学装置有可能在复杂的生物化学和机械环境中提高我们对细胞力学的认识。公共卫生相关性：许多疾病，包括动脉粥样硬化和骨性关节炎，都与细胞力学改变有关。该项目将创建一种独特的设备来测试各种情况下的细胞力学。更好地了解细胞的机械特性，它们如何影响细胞功能，以及它们在疾病中如何变化，可能有助于诊断和治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cell mechanics play a critical role in health and disease across diverse tissues. Yet our understanding of cell mechanical properties, as well as how cells sense and respond to the mechanical environment remains incomplete. A variety of techniques exist to study cell mechanics, each has its own benefits and limitations. Since no one technique is applicable to all cell mechanics assays, it is important to expand our cell mechanics toolbox. In this project, we will develop a dielectrophoretic device to apply non-contact compressive force to individual, attached cells. The hypothesis behind the proposed research is that that negative dielectrophoresis can be used to apply lateral compressive forces to single cells without physical contact. We will design a dielectrophoretic device for trapping and applying force to cells. Electric and force fields will be modeled in two and three dimensions, an electrode array will be designed to test multiple individual cells concurrently, and the device will be built with microfabrication techniques. We will then demonstrate device efficacy by trapping cells, allowing them to attach, and measuring cell mechanical properties with and without intact microtubules. Successful completion of this project will produce a unique device to expand our current cell mechanics toolbox. The ability to apply a non-contact compressive force to individual attached asymmetric cells will improve our understanding of cell mechanics in health and disease. This device, because it is coupled with a microfluidic system, could further be used to simultaneously and dynamically test single cells as they are exposed to environmental factors (cytokines, fluid flow) that alter cell mechanical properties. The dielectophoretic cell mechanics device has potential to advance our knowledge of cell mechanics in complex biochemical and mechanical situations. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Many diseases, including atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis, are related to altered cell mechanics. This project will create a unique device to test cell mechanics for a variety of situations. An improved understanding of cell mechanical properties, how they affect cell functions, and how they change in disease could help with diagnosis and treatment.