Micromachined Sensors to Study Cell Mechanical Response: Micro Force Sensors and Their Applications for the Study of Mechanical Response of Single Living Cells

Increasing evidence has shown that living cells respond to mechanical stimuli not only mechanically but also biochemically. But how they respond to mechanical stimuli and the mechanisms through which they transduce the mechanical stimuli into biological responses remain largely unclear. In this research, novel versatile and flexible microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors were developed for studying mechanical response of single living cells. These sensors measure cell force response in the range of one nano newton to one micro newton, which is largely inaccessible for the current relevant prevalent techniques such as atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers, and magnetic twisting cytometry. These sensors have been used to study the mechanobiological response of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and neurons, and first-time experiments and surprising findings are reported. This work enhances our current understanding and sheds new light on cellular mechanosensitivity and mechanotransduction. This book, therefore, is especially useful for researchers and engineers related to cell and tissue mechanobiology, MEMS, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.