Abstract
A simple optical tweezers design is proposed to manipulate particles in the axial direction and estimate particle position with nanometer sensitivity. Balb3T3 cell is probed using two different-sized particles, and the localized cell stiffness is evaluated using Hertz model. A series of experiments are performed to obtain the necessary parameters for the cell stiffness computation: particle displacement, trapping stiffness, force exertion, and cell deformation. The computed cell stiffness measurements are 17 and 40 Pa using 4 μm- and 2 μm-sized particles, respectively. Results suggest that the proposed optical tweezers scheme can measure the stiffness of a particular cell locale using Hertz model, offering insights about how cells respond to outside mechanical stimulus.
Highlights
The mechanical studies on the cytoskeleton can provide important insights into the functions of biological molecules such as cell division, motility, mobility, growth of neuron cells and study of adaptive immune system[1,2] mechanically stimulating the cytoskeletal components have been shown to play crucial roles in mediating and transferring subcellular local signals to the whole cell.[3]
Notable biological applications include stretching deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a red blood cell (RBC), and probing different types of cells; these optical traps are designed to move in the lateral direction.[9,10,11]
Because cells move in three dimensions, examining the effects of exerted axial forces can elucidate more on the mechanical properties of cells
Summary
The mechanical studies on the cytoskeleton can provide important insights into the functions of biological molecules such as cell division, motility, mobility, growth of neuron cells and study of adaptive immune system[1,2] mechanically stimulating the cytoskeletal components have been shown to play crucial roles in mediating and transferring subcellular local signals to the whole cell.[3] Optical tweezers are utilized to exert forces in the pN-order, which is suitable for studying the interacting forces between and within biomolecules,[4,5] the kinetics and properties of biological molecules,[6] and measurements of forces acting on particles in colloidal suspensions.[7,8]. Studies that investigate axial forces utilize special devices such as acousto-optic modulators and spatial light modulators.[12,13] these works do not measure axial cell stiffness. The proposed approach demonstrates an axial particle manipulation technique using 4 μm- and 2 μm-sized particles as probes to measure the stiffness of a Balb3T3 cell using Hertz model
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