Mechanical Stimuli Vs Cell Deformability

Cells and tissues constantly sense the mechanical properties of their microenvironment and respond to it by changing their cellular mechanosensitivity which involves cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesion. Therefore by understanding the mechanical properties of cells and tissues we can provide new insights on biological processes, conditions and diseases.

One of the traditional approaches for measuring the deformability of cells is the micropipette aspiration technique. The microfluidic based micropipette aspiration systems were developed in order to achieve high resolution and to give the users the ability to adjust the system for their needs. Most of these approaches use a model that is based on the Young-Laplace equation, accounting the cell as a liquid-filled body with constant volume.

Due to the fact that a cell membrane is not a sealed barrier, our aim is to use a microfluidic system in order to study mechanical properties of cells and to provide the data required to create a new theoretical model that is not based on the liquid drop model. To achieve our goal, we designed a microfluidic based micropipette aspiration device that enables us to capture a single cell in a tunnel which gets narrower as the cell advances. Flow pressure then is gently increased, causing cell stretching until it reaches a new equilibrium point. The pressure is measured in the inlet and outlet of the tunnel by a pressure sensor to get as accurate a reading as possible. By correlating between the gradient of pressure and the cell deformation properties we aim to reveal a new physical rule that governs this behavior.