Delgado Daniel, Desroches Sarah, Kang Gia, Aldabii Yousef, Harris Andrew R
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel by Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6.
Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel by Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6.
Heliyon. 2024 Sep 20;10(19):e38214. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38214. eCollection 2024 Oct 15.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has become the gold standard tool for measuring mechanical properties of biological samples including proteins, single cells and tissues. However, investment in this specialized equipment and gaining expertise in its operation are significant obstacles for non-experts looking to adopt this technique. To address this, we have designed an AFM based mechanical measurement system for measuring cell mechanical properties which is combined with a custom inverted fluorescence microscope which can be used for characterizing mechanosensitive responses. This system, through its ease of use and low setup cost, will promote interdisciplinary research leading to new insights into the role of cell mechanics and mechanosensitive responses in physiology and disease.
原子力显微镜（AFM）已成为测量包括蛋白质、单细胞和组织在内的生物样品机械性能的金标准工具。然而，对于希望采用这项技术的非专业人员来说，投资这种专业设备并掌握其操作技能是重大障碍。为了解决这一问题，我们设计了一种基于AFM的机械测量系统，用于测量细胞机械性能，该系统与一台定制的倒置荧光显微镜相结合，可用于表征机械敏感反应。该系统因其易用性和低设置成本，将促进跨学科研究，从而对细胞力学和机械敏感反应在生理学和疾病中的作用产生新的见解。
