Department of Biophysical Microstructures, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Krakow, Poland.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2022 Sep 19;380(2232):20210346. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2021.0346. Epub 2022 Aug 1.
The determination of mechanical properties of living cells as an indicator of cancer progression has become possible with the development of local measurement techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM). Its most important advantage is a nanoscopic character, implying that very local alterations can be quantified. The results gathered from AFM measurements of various cancers show that, for most cancers, individual cells are characterized by the lower apparent Young's modulus, denoting higher cell deformability. The measured value depends on various factors, like the properties of substrates used for cell growth, force loading rate or indentation depth. Despite this, the results proved the AFM capability to recognize mechanically altered cells. This can significantly impact the development of methodological approaches toward the precise identification of pathological cells. This article is part of the theme issue 'Nanocracks in nature and industry'.
利用原子力显微镜（AFM）等局部测量技术的发展，已经可以确定活细胞的机械性能作为癌症进展的指标。它最重要的优势是具有纳米级特征，这意味着可以量化非常局部的变化。从对各种癌症的 AFM 测量中收集的结果表明，对于大多数癌症，单个细胞的表观杨氏模量较低，这表示细胞的可变形性更高。测量值取决于各种因素，例如用于细胞生长的基底的特性、力加载速率或压痕深度。尽管如此，结果证明了 AFM 识别机械改变细胞的能力。这可能会对精确识别病理细胞的方法学方法的发展产生重大影响。本文是主题为“自然界和工业中的纳米裂纹”的一部分。
