Physics Department, University of Naples Federico II, via Cinthia, Napoli, Italy.
Methods. 2010 May;51(1):20-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2009.12.008. Epub 2009 Dec 24.
Cell mechanical properties play an important role in determining many cellular activities. Passive microrheology techniques, such as Multiple-Particle-Tracking (MPT) give an insight into the structural rearrangements and viscoelastic response of a wide range of materials, in particular soft materials and complex fluids like cell cytoplasm in living cells. The technique finds an important field of application in large cells such as oocytes where, during their growth, several organelles and molecules are displaced in specific territories of the cell instrumental for later embryonic development. To measure cell mechanics, cells are usually deformed by many techniques that are slow and often invasive. To overcome these limits, the MPT technique is applied. Probe particles are embedded in the viscoelastic sample and their properties are extracted from the thermal fluctuation spectra measured using digital video-microscopy. The Brownian motion of a probe particle immersed in a network is directly related to the network's mechanical properties. Particles exhibit larger motions when their local environments are less rigid or less viscous. The mean-square-displacement (MSD) of the particle's trajectory is used to quantify its amplitude of motions over different time scales.
细胞的力学特性在决定许多细胞活动方面起着重要作用。被动微流变技术,如多粒子跟踪(MPT),可以深入了解广泛材料的结构重排和粘弹性响应,特别是软材料和复杂流体,如活细胞中的细胞质。该技术在大型细胞中找到了一个重要的应用领域,例如卵母细胞,在卵母细胞的生长过程中,几个细胞器和分子在细胞的特定区域发生位移,这对后期胚胎发育至关重要。为了测量细胞力学,细胞通常会被许多缓慢且常常具有侵入性的技术变形。为了克服这些限制,应用了 MPT 技术。探针粒子被嵌入粘弹性样品中,它们的特性从使用数字视频显微镜测量的热波动谱中提取出来。探针粒子在网络中的布朗运动直接与网络的力学特性相关。当粒子的局部环境较不刚性或较不粘性时,粒子表现出更大的运动。粒子轨迹的均方位移(MSD)用于量化其在不同时间尺度上的运动幅度。