Simultaneous Characterization of Instantaneous Young's Modulus and Specific Membrane Capacitance of Single Cells Using a Microfluidic System

Sensors

Yang Zhao²  Deyong Chen²  Yana Luo²  Feng Chen²  Xiaoting Zhao¹  Mei Jiang¹  Wentao Yue¹  Rong Long³  Junbo Wang² 

[1] Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China; E-Mails:;State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; E-Mails:;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G8, Canada

关键词: microfluidics;    single-cell analysis;    cellular biophysics;    instantaneous Young's modulus;    specific membrane capacitance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s150202763

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents a microfluidics-based approach capable of continuously characterizing instantaneous Young's modulus (E_{instantaneous}) and specific membrane capacitance (C_{specific membrane}) of suspended single cells. In this method, cells were aspirated through a constriction channel while the cellular entry process into the constriction channel was recorded using a high speed camera and the impedance profiles at two frequencies (1 kHz and 100 kHz) were simultaneously measured by a lock-in amplifier. Numerical simulations were conducted to model cellular entry process into the constriction channel, focusing on two key parameters: instantaneous aspiration length (L_{instantaneous}) and transitional aspiration length (L_transitional), which was further translated to E_{instantaneous}. An equivalent distribution circuit model for a cell travelling in the constriction channel was used to determine C_{specific membrane}. A non-small-cell lung cancer cell line 95C (n = 354) was used to evaluate this technique, producing E_{instantaneous} of 2.96 ± 0.40 kPa and C_{specific membrane} of 1.59 ± 0.28 μF/cm². As a platform for continuous and simultaneous characterization of cellular E_{instantaneous} and C_{specific membrane}, this approach can facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of cellular biophysical properties.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.