Abstract
Biophysical properties of living cells such as mechanical and chemical have been proven to play important roles in regulations of various biological activities including disease progression both at the cellular and molecular levels. In the past decades, a number of research tools have been developed to provide better understanding towards cell?s biophysical states. This growing interest was supported by the emergence of researches focusing on single cell analysis (SCA) which serves as a platform enabling various experimentation works to be carried out. In this context, various techniques have been developed for single cell?s mechanical characterization to improve robustness, accuracy and operational flexibility. The generic solution varies from traditional approach, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and microfluidic. This paper presents a review of progress and developments in the field of single cell mechanical properties specifically discussing on stiffness characterizations. An analytical comparison of the reviewed solutions is presented, and the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques are compared.
Highlights
Biophysical properties of living cells such as mechanical and chemical have been proven to play important roles in regulations of various biological activities including disease progression both at the cellular and molecular levels
In this review, we summarized the single cell stiffness characterization techniques available covering from traditional approaches, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based devices and the employment of microfluidic
Mechanical characterizations hold the key towards understanding fundamental biophysics and have been shown to have clinical relevance for disease diagnostics
Summary
Neutrophils, chondrocytes, endothelial -Cell aspiration can be done without -Slow and tedious operation [19,20,21,22]. DEP was successfully used to manipulate biological cells such as bacterial and mammalian cells [75,76] Another technique called microelectrical impedance spectroscopy (μ-EIS) adopted a frequency dependent excitation signal to be applied across a trapped cell for current response measurement. Latest advancement introduced by Mernier et al demonstated the usage of liquid electrode which capable to discriminate the living and dead yeast cells and can be used for DEP focussing of particles [81]. Eventhough this technique proven to be more powerful than Coulter counters, the establishment between cell physiological changes with their corresponding electrical properties remain vague. Common disadvantages suffered by all electrically induced techniques are slow throughput, complex electrical phenomena and unknown cell properties
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