Li Xiao, Jin Yiteng, Shi Jialin, Sun Xiaoqiang, Ouyang Qi, Luo Chunxiong
Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
The Department of Endodontics, School of Stomatology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Biomicrofluidics. 2022 May 3;16(3):034102. doi: 10.1063/5.0085876. eCollection 2022 May.
The mechanical properties of cells are of great significance to their normal physiological activities. The current methods used for the measurement of a cell's mechanical properties have the problems of complicated operation, low throughput, and limited measuring range. Based on micropipette technology, we designed a double-layer micro-valve-controlled microfluidic chip with a series of micropipette arrays. The chip has adjustment pressure ranges of 0.03-1 and 0.3-10 kPa and has a pressure stabilization design, which can achieve a robust measurement of a single cell's mechanical properties under a wide pressure range and is simple to operate. Using this chip, we measured the mechanical properties of the cells treated with different concentrations of paraformaldehyde (PFA) and observed that the viscoelasticity of the cells gradually increased as the PFA concentration increased. Then, this method was also used to characterize the changes in the mechanical properties of the differentiation pathways of stem cells from the apical papilla to osteogenesis.
细胞的力学特性对其正常生理活动具有重要意义。当前用于测量细胞力学特性的方法存在操作复杂、通量低和测量范围有限等问题。基于微吸管技术，我们设计了一种带有一系列微吸管阵列的双层微阀控制微流控芯片。该芯片的调节压力范围为0.03 - 1和0.3 - 10kPa，并且具有压力稳定设计，能够在较宽的压力范围内对单个细胞的力学特性进行可靠测量，且操作简单。使用该芯片，我们测量了用不同浓度多聚甲醛（PFA）处理的细胞的力学特性，观察到随着PFA浓度的增加，细胞的粘弹性逐渐增加。然后，该方法还被用于表征根尖乳头干细胞向成骨分化途径中力学特性的变化。
