科研之友
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摘要
Mechanical stimuli regulate cell structure and function during physiological processes. To understand the role of mechanical stimuli, engineered devices are developed to deliver controllable mechanical signals to cells cultured in vitro. Localized mechanical loading on selected cells are preferred when investigating intercellular communication. In this work, we fabricated and characterized a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-device for applying controlled compressive/tensile loads to selected live cells. The device consists of nine circular PDMS membranes serving as the loading sites; the loading parameters at each site are individually controllable. The in-plane strain upon PDMS membrane deflection was experimentally characterized. The result showed that for a circular membrane with 500 mu m in diameter and 60 mu m thick, the radial strain from -6% (compressive) to 25% (tensile) can be achieved at the membrane center. This device allows localized cell loading with minimal fabrication/operation complexity and ease of scaling-up. It is expected to foster the development of high throughput mechanical loading systems for a broad array of cellular mechanobiological studies.
- 出版日期2013-1
