Departmental Papers (CBE)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
November 2007
Abstract
The results of mechanical measurements on single cultured epithelial cells using both magnetic twisting cytometry (MTC) and laser tracking microrheology (LTM) are described. Our unique approach uses laser deflection for high-performance tracking of cell-adhered magnetic beads either in response to an oscillatory magnetic torque (MTC) or due to random Brownian or ATP-dependent forces (LTM). This approach is well suited for accurately determining the rheology of single cells, the study of temporal and cell-to-cell variations in the MTC signal amplitude, and assessing the statistical character of the tracers' random motion in detail. The temporal variation of the MTC rocking amplitude is surprisingly large and manifests as a frequency independent multiplicative factor having a 1/ƒ spectrum in living cells, which disappears upon ATP depletion. In the epithelial cells we study, random bead position fluctuations are Gaussian to the limits of detection both in the Brownian and ATP-dependent cases, unlike earlier studies on other cell types.
Recommended Citation
Massiera, G., Van Citters, K. M., Biancaniello, P. L., & Crocker, J. C. (2007). Mechanics of Single Cells: Rheology, Time Dependence, and Fluctuations. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_papers/122
Date Posted: 14 October 2008
Comments
Reprinted from Biophysical Journal, Volume 93, Issue 10, November 2007, pages 3703–3713.
Publisher URL: http://www.biophysj.org/cgi/content/abstract/biophysj.107.111641v1