Narrow-gap Rheometry: A Novel Method for Measuring Cell Mechanics

Bashir KMI, Lee S, Jung DH, Basu SK, Cho MG, Wierschem A (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Cells MDPI

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 2010

Journal Issue: 13

DOI: 10.3390/cells11132010

Abstract

The viscoelastic properties of a cell cytoskeleton contain abundant information about the state of a cell. Cells show a response to a specific environment or an administered drug through changes in their viscoelastic properties. Studies of single cells have shown that chemical agents that interact with the cytoskeleton can alter mechanical cell properties and suppress mitosis. This envisions using rheological measurements as a non-specific tool for drug development, the pharmacological screening of new drug agents, and to optimize dosage. Although there exists a number of sophisticated methods for studying mechanical properties of single cells, studying concentration dependencies is difficult and cumbersome with these methods: large cell-to-cell variations demand high repetition rates to obtain statistically significant data. Furthermore, method-induced changes in the cell mechanics cannot be excluded when working in a nonlinear viscoelastic range. To address these issues, we not only compared narrow-gap rheometry with commonly used single cell techniques, such as atomic force microscopy and microfluidic-based approaches, but we also compared existing cell monolayer studies used to estimate cell mechanical properties. This review provides insight for whether and how narrow-gap rheometer could be used as an efficient drug screening tool, which could further improve our current understanding of the mechanical issues present in the treatment of human diseases.

Authors with CRIS profile

Suhyang Lee Professur für Hochdruckthermofluiddynamik und Rheologie Santanu Kumar Basu Professur für Hochdruckthermofluiddynamik und Rheologie Andreas Wierschem Professur für Hochdruckthermofluiddynamik und Rheologie

Involved external institutions

German Engineering Research and Development Center LSTME KR Korea, Republic of (KR)

How to cite

APA:

Bashir, K.M.I., Lee, S., Jung, D.H., Basu, S.K., Cho, M.G., & Wierschem, A. (2022). Narrow-gap Rheometry: A Novel Method for Measuring Cell Mechanics. Cells, 11(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11132010

MLA:

Bashir, Khawaja Muhammad Imran, et al. "Narrow-gap Rheometry: A Novel Method for Measuring Cell Mechanics." Cells 11.13 (2022).

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