A novel method to make viscoelastic polyacrylamide gels for cell culture and traction force microscopy.
Elisabeth E CharrierKatarzyna PogodaRobin LiChan Young ParkJeffrey J FredbergPaul A JanmeyPublished in: APL bioengineering (2020)
Polyacrylamide hydrogels are commonly used in cell biology, notably to cultivate cells on soft surfaces. Polyacrylamide gels are purely elastic and well adapted to cell culture as they are inert and can be conjugated with adhesion proteins. Here, we report a method to make viscoelastic polyacrylamide gels with mechanical properties more closely resembling biological tissues and suitable for cell culture in vitro. We demonstrate that these gels can be used for traction force microscopy experiments. We also show that multiple cell types respond to the viscoelasticity of their substrate and that viscous dissipation has an influence on cell spreading, contractility, and motility. This new material provides new opportunities for investigating how normal or malignant cells sense and respond to viscous dissipation within the extra-cellular matrix.
Keyphrases
- single molecule
- single cell
- induced apoptosis
- cell therapy
- high resolution
- drug delivery
- gene expression
- high throughput
- atomic force microscopy
- stem cells
- photodynamic therapy
- high speed
- oxidative stress
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- signaling pathway
- staphylococcus aureus
- hyaluronic acid
- mass spectrometry
- extracellular matrix
- label free
- smooth muscle
- drug release