Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 10: Poster III

BP 10.12: Poster

Monday, March 16, 2020, 17:30–19:30, P2/3OG

Microrheology of human umbilical vein endothelial cells using Acoustic Force Spectroscopy — •Alfred Nguyen and Timo Betz — Institute of Cell Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

We present a novel method for microrheology using acoustic forces in the range of pN-nN to oscillate particles inside a microfluidic chip. For this method we used the Acoustic Force Spectroscope (AFS) which was introduced as a single-molecule technique to measure mechanochemical properties of biomolecules in parallel. Our new application for the AFS enables the measurement of the dynamics of the viscoelastic properties of cells exposed to different conditions, such as flow shear stresses or drug injections. To validate our new method for microrheology on living cells in vitro, we cultured a monolayer of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) inside the measurement chip and exerted oscillatory forces on particles attached on top of the cells. By determining the force and measuring the position of the particle, the complex shear modulus G*(ω) could be measured. We confirm a decrease in shear modulus after perturbing actin polymerization by cytochalasin B. This effect was reversible after washing the drug out. Although these measurements are possible, we provide a critical discussion of the AFS showing its advantages as well as its drawbacks and how to process the obtained data.