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A comparative study of living cell micromechanical properties by oscillatory optical tweezers

Micromechanical properties of biological cells are crucial for cells functions. Despite extensive study by a variety of approaches, an understanding of the subject remains elusive. We conducted a comparative study of the micromechanical properties of cultured alveolar epithelial cells with an oscill...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2008-06, Vol.16 (12), p.8594-8603
Main Authors: Wei, Ming-Tzo, Zaorski, Angela, Yalcin, Huseyin C, Wang, Jing, Ghadiali, Samir N, Chiou, Arthur, Ou-Yang, H Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Micromechanical properties of biological cells are crucial for cells functions. Despite extensive study by a variety of approaches, an understanding of the subject remains elusive. We conducted a comparative study of the micromechanical properties of cultured alveolar epithelial cells with an oscillatory optical tweezer-based cytorheometer. In this study, the frequency-dependent viscoelasticity of these cells was measured by optical trapping and forced oscillation of either a submicron endogenous intracellular organelle (intra-cellular) or a 1.5microm silica bead attached to the cytoskeleton through trans-membrane integrin receptors (extra-cellular). Both the storage modulus and the magnitude of the complex shear modulus followed weak power-law dependence with frequency. These data are comparable to data obtained by other measurement techniques. The exponents of power-law dependence of the data from the intra- and extra- cellular measurements are similar; however, the differences in the magnitudes of the moduli from the two measurements are statistically significant.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/oe.16.008594