Automated measurement of cell mechanical properties using an integrated dielectrophoretic microfluidic device

Hao Yang; Mingjie Zhu; Tao Chen; Fuzhou Niu; Lining Sun; Liang Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104275

Automated measurement of cell mechanical properties using an integrated dielectrophoretic microfluidic device

iScience. 2022 Apr 20;25(5):104275. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104275. eCollection 2022 May 20.

Authors

Hao Yang¹, Mingjie Zhu¹, Tao Chen¹, Fuzhou Niu², Lining Sun¹, Liang Cheng³

Affiliations

¹ Robotics and Microsystems Center, School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou.
² School of Mechanical Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou.
³ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou.

Abstract

Cell mechanics is closely related to and interacts with cellular functions, which has the potential to be an effective biomarker to indicate disease onset and progression. Although several techniques have been developed for measuring cell mechanical properties, the issues of limited measurement data and biological significance because of complex and labor-intensive manipulation remain to be addressed, especially for the dielectrophoresis-based approach that is difficult to utilize flow measurement techniques. In this work, a dielectrophoresis-based solution is proposed to automatically obtain mass cellular mechanical data by combining a designed microfluidic device integrated the functions of cell capture, dielectrophoretic stretching, and cell release and an automatic control scheme. Experiments using human umbilical vein endothelial cells and breast cells revealed the automation capability of this device. The proposed method provides an effective way to address the low-throughput problem of dielectrophoresis-based cell mechanical property measurements, which enhance the biostatistical significance for cellular mechanism studies.

Keywords: Cell biology; Fluidics; Technical aspects of cell biology.