Cell poker: An apparatus for stress-strain measurements on living cells

Abstract

An apparatus is described which can make force vs. displacement measurements on regions of a living cell. A force on the order of 10−3 dyne is applied by a stylus to an area of about 10 μm2 on the upper side of a cell growing on a culture dish. The resulting deformation is deduced from a solution conductance measurement with a sensitivity of 0.1 μm. The technique is compatible with optical microscopy and electrophysiological recording.