Acoustic Wave-Induced Stroboscopic Optical Mechanotyping of Adherent Cells

Abstract

In this study, a novel, high content technique using a cylindrical acoustic transducer, stroboscopic fast imaging, and homodyne detection to recover the mechanical properties (dynamic shear modulus) of living adherent cells at low ultrasonic frequencies is presented. By analyzing the micro-oscillations of cells, whole populations are simultaneously mechanotyped with sub-cellular resolution. The technique can be combined with standard fluorescence imaging allowing to further cross-correlate biological and mechanical information. The potential of the technique is demonstrated by mechanotyping co-cultures of different cell types with significantly different mechanical properties.

Keywords: biophysics; cell mechanics; live cell imaging; ultrasound; viscoelasticity.