rethinking Hertz model interpretation for cell mechanics using AFM
Katarina Mendová (Author), Martin Otáhal (Author), Mitja Drab (Author), Matej Daniel (Author)

Abstract

Cell mechanics are a biophysical indicator of cell state, such as cancer metastasis, leukocyte activation, and cell cycle progression. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used technique to measure cell mechanics, where the Young modulus of a cell is usually derived from the Hertz contact model. However, the Hertz model assumes that the cell is an elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous material and that the indentation is small compared to the cell size. These assumptions neglect the effects of the cytoskeleton, cell size and shape, and cell environment on cell deformation. In this study, we investigated the influence of cell size on the estimated Young’s modulus using liposomes as cell models. Liposomes were prepared with different sizes and filled with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or hyaluronic acid (HA) to mimic the cytoplasm. AFM was used to obtain the force indentation curves and fit them to the Hertz model. We found that the larger the liposome, the lower the estimated Young’s modulus for both PBS-filled and HA-filled liposomes. This suggests that the Young modulus obtained from the Hertz model is not only a property of the cell material but also depends on the cell dimensions. Therefore, when comparing or interpreting cell mechanics using the Hertz model, it is essential to account for cell size.

Keywords

mikroskopija na atomsko silo (AFM);celična mehanika;togost celic;Hertzov kontaktni model;atomic force microscopy (AFM);cell mechanics;cell stiffness;Hertz contact model;

Data

Language: English
Year of publishing:
Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization: UL FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
UDC: 620.3
COBISS: 200434179 Link will open in a new window
ISSN: 1422-0067
Views: 61
Downloads: 9
Average score: 0 (0 votes)
Metadata: JSON JSON-RDF JSON-LD TURTLE N-TRIPLES XML RDFA MICRODATA DC-XML DC-RDF RDF

Other data

Secondary language: Slovenian
Secondary keywords: mikroskopija na atomsko silo (AFM);celična mehanika;togost celic;Hertzov kontaktni model;
Type (COBISS): Article
Pages: 12 str.
Volume: ǂVol. ǂ25
Issue: ǂiss. ǂ13, [article no.] 7186
Chronology: Jul.-1 2024
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25137186
ID: 24512060