Neubauer Michael, Brahmachary Priyanka, Fine Alan, June Ronald, Warnat Stephan
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States of America.
Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States of America.
Meas Sci Technol. 2025 Aug 31;36(8):085701. doi: 10.1088/1361-6501/adf65a. Epub 2025 Aug 12.
This paper presents the development, production, and application of a 3D-printed microfluidic device designed to measure the viscoelastic recovery time of cartilage cells, chondrocytes. Bovine chondrocytes were imaged using a confocal microscope while compressed by a movable glass plate. Their recovery was monitored by tracking their projected area over time, converting it into a linear strain, and fitting it to a Burgers mechanical model. Strains ranging from 10% to 60% were applied to the cells, and model parameters, including the viscoelastic recovery time, were derived. We found that cells subjected to strains greater than 40% exhibited radially-symmetric deformations. This radially-symmetric deformation, possibly cell blebbing, was observed as a short-term effect, with the cell fully recovering its initial shape. Non-blebbing and blebbing chondrocytes exhibited viscoelastic recovery times of 42 s and 38 s, respectively. While the recovery time did not depend on the magnitude of applied strain, the measured permanent strain increased with higher applied strain magnitude. Overall, this study demonstrates the use of a new, low-cost 3D-printed microfluidic device in combination with advanced microscopy for characterizing the viscoelastic properties of cells.
本文介绍了一种用于测量软骨细胞（chondrocytes）粘弹性恢复时间的3D打印微流控装置的开发、生产及应用。使用共聚焦显微镜对牛软骨细胞进行成像，同时用可移动玻璃板对其进行压缩。通过跟踪细胞投影面积随时间的变化，将其转换为线性应变，并将其拟合到伯格斯力学模型来监测细胞的恢复情况。对细胞施加10%至60%的应变，并得出包括粘弹性恢复时间在内的模型参数。我们发现，应变大于40%的细胞表现出径向对称变形。这种径向对称变形，可能是细胞起泡，被观察到是一种短期效应，细胞能完全恢复其初始形状。不起泡和起泡的软骨细胞的粘弹性恢复时间分别为42秒和38秒。虽然恢复时间不取决于施加应变的大小，但测得的永久应变随施加应变大小的增加而增加。总体而言，本研究展示了一种新型低成本3D打印微流控装置与先进显微镜相结合用于表征细胞粘弹性特性的应用。
