Microdevice-based mechanical compression on living cells

Sevgi Onal; Maan M Alkaisi; Volker Nock

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105518

Microdevice-based mechanical compression on living cells

iScience. 2022 Nov 9;25(12):105518. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105518. eCollection 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Sevgi Onal^{1

2}, Maan M Alkaisi^{1

2}, Volker Nock^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand.
² MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
³ Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand.

Abstract

Compressive stress enables the investigation of a range of cellular processes in which forces play an important role, such as cell growth, differentiation, migration, and invasion. Such solid stress can be introduced externally to study cell response and to mechanically induce changes in cell morphology and behavior by static or dynamic compression. Microfluidics is a useful tool for this, allowing one to mimic in vivo microenvironments in on-chip culture systems where force application can be controlled spatially and temporally. Here, we review the mechanical compression applications on cells with a broad focus on studies using microtechnologies and microdevices to apply cell compression, in comparison to off-chip bulk systems. Due to their unique features, microfluidic systems developed to apply compressive forces on single cells, in 2D and 3D culture models, and compression in cancer microenvironments are emphasized. Research efforts in this field can help the development of mechanoceuticals in the future.

Keywords: Mechanobiology; biological sciences; biophysics; cell biology.

Publication types

Review