BioMEMS based micro instrumentation for in-situ quantitative investigations of adhesion, structural mechanics and mechanotransduction of single living cells and Embryos

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

There is increasing experimental evidence suggesting that extracellular and intracellular mechanical forces have a profound influence on a wide range of cell behavior. They include growth, differentiation, apoptosis. gene expression, adhesion and signal transduction. Thus it is important to understand how the mechanical forces are transmitted into the cell and what corresponding molecular changes do they initiate, and how do cells exhibit such changes. Although advances have been made towards understanding such questions, a significant challenge remains- quantitative evaluation of cell force response at a cellular and subcellular level. In the engineering world, a revolution is underway through miniaturization of mechanical components, giving rise to the field of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). Our (UIUC and Harvard Medical School) preliminary experiments with bio-MEMS sensors show that local mechanical deformation can be applied on single cells and embryos, and their force response can be measured quantitatively. The experiments have demonstrated the potential of a new class of microinstruments that may lead to fundamental breakthroughs in the understanding of cellular mechanics, mechanotransduction, tissue engineering, drug discovery and cancer research. Professor Donald Ingber of Harvard Medical school will serve as the consultant to this project. The project is highly multidisciplinary. It merges micro systems' engineering with cellular biology. The engineering students will gain extensive experience with cell culture, cell manipulation, advanced imaging of cytoskeletal structures using florescenece techniques, as well as micro fabrication and micro mechanics. Interesting experimental results from the project will be presented to undergraduate students in mechanical engineering and biology. Videos of experiments with Bio-MEMS will also be presented to the University High School on UIUC campus - a current project of the P1 supported by NSF through REU program.