Single-Cell Biophysics: Measurement, Modulation, and Modeling

Single-Cell Biophysics: Measurement, Modulation, and Modeling

Poster Abstracts

56-POS Board 28 A Microfluidic Pipette Array and Compression Device for Mechanical Perturbation of Single Cells Kenneth Ho 1 , Lap Man Lee 1 , Allen Liu 1,2,3 . 1 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 2 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 3 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. The proper responses of the cells to mechanical stimuli are important in numerous physiological processes. With the development of microsystem engineering tools, controlled and repeatable application of active mechanical input to single cells is becoming more available. Several microfluidic platforms have been developed for mechanotransduction research over the last decade that mainly focus on applying a single mechanical perturbation and often to a population of cells. Here we develop a multilayer microfluidic device using soft lithography with the goal of applying controlled aspiration and compression to single cells. The device, called microfluidic pipette array and compression (µFPAnC), consists of a flow channel with trapping cups that have narrow microchannels to the side to serve as aspiration micropipettes. Two independent pneumatically controlled valves above the flow channel serve to facilitate single cell loading and compression when they are actuated. The design enabled us to perform mechanical measurements of single cells at a higher throughput compared to manual micropipette aspiration. We characterized the stiffness of normal breast epithelial cells and breast cancer epithelial cells and found the cancer cells are two times softer than their normal counterpart. Compression in the normal direction is also a unique feature of this novel setup and we were able to perform static and cyclic compression at various amplitudes and frequencies. The development of µFPAnC will provide ample opportunities for single cell mechanotransduction research.

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