Mechanical testing of cells for diagnostics and therapy reasons

The mechanical changes of the cells can alter cell functions such as differentiation, migration, adhesion, synthesis and their life cycle. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an advanced technology to study mechanical characteristics of cells both qualitatively and quantitatively at nano- scale. New mathematical models are required to measure the mechanical properties like elastic modulus from the force-displacement curves derived from the AFM. Elastic modulus can be used in the therapeutic and diagnostic fields such as cancer research. This seminar will focus on the development and validation of the new contact model based on the elastic shell theory. Validation of the new model is carried out by indenting the J774 macrophage cell line and comparing derived results with the Hertz model.