Simultaneous Measurement of Single-Cell Mechanics and Cell-to-Materials Adhesion Using Fluidic Force Microscopy

Abstract

The connection between cells and their substrate is essential for biological processes such as cell migration. Atomic force microscopy nanoindentation has often been adopted to measure single-cell mechanics. Very recently, fluidic force microscopy has been developed to enable rapid measurements of cell adhesion. However, simultaneous characterization of the cell-to-material adhesion and viscoelastic properties of the same cell is challenging. In this study, we present a new approach to simultaneously determine these properties for single cells, using fluidic force microscopy. For MCF-7 cells grown on tissue-culture-treated polystyrene surfaces, we found that the adhesive force and adhesion energy were correlated for each cell. Well-spread cells tended to have stronger adhesion, which may be due to the greater area of the contact between cellular adhesion receptors and the surface. By contrast, the viscoelastic properties of MCF-7 cells cultured on the same surface appeared to have little dependence on cell shape. This methodology provides an integrated approach to better understand the biophysics of multiple cell types.

Simultaneous determination of the mechanical properties and turgor of a single bacterial cell using atomic force microscopy

“…Atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques have been shown to be an effective approach to measure the mechanical properties of bacterial cells. 3,13,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] The Young's modulus of various bacterial cells measured by AFM nanoindentation were in the range of 0.05-769 MPa depending on the type of bacterium, environmental conditions, and theoretical models. 8 For example, Eaton et al 31 measured a higher elastic modulus for the rod-shaped model bacterium Escherichia coli than for the spherical bacterium Staphylococcus aureus using AFM in airdried conditions, which may be caused by different cell wall architectures and geometry effects on the applicability of the Hertz contact model using a pyramidal probe.…”

Scanning Probe Lithography: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

“…Thereafter, AFM was first utilized as a powerful machine tool to modify the material surface, such as a polycarbonate surface in 1992 [20] and a gold surface in 1997 [21]. Undergoing nearly 30 years of development, the family of SPMs has expanded rapidly, leading to innovations such as electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) [22], magnetic force microscopy (MFM) [23], fluidic force microscopy (FluidFM) [24], piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) [25], etc. Consequently, a variety of SPL nanofabrication techniques now exist that can offer atomic manipulation, electric field emission, chemical diffusion, electrochemical reaction, thermal deposition, and mechanical scratching.…”

“…[104].Copyright © 2022, Springer Nature (b) Nanofluidic delivery system. Reproduced with permission from Ref [24]…”

The role of cellular traction forces in deciphering nuclear mechanics

“…The common mechanical modes of forces are stretching, compressive, and shear forces as well as forces derived from surface tension continuously experienced by cells in vivo [60,61]. The stress and strain experienced by cells on hydrogel surfaces are important for studying cell dynamics.…”

“…Recently, fluidic force microscopy was applied to study single-cell mechanics and cell-to-material adhesion using a fluidic force fluid tip positioned with an AFM tip holder [61]. Subsequently, negative pressure was applied to attach the cell to the cantilever, and by applying force to the cell on the cantilever, the force was sensed using a standard feedback sensor, i.e., an AFM laser detection system.…”