BIOMECHANICS, BIOENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY Seminar

PROGRAM

Plan rada Seminara iz Biomehanike, bioinžinjeringa i matematičke biologije za SEPTEMBAR 2023.

UTORAK, 05.09.2023. u 14:00, Online
B. Imran Akca, Department of Physics and Astronomy, the VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NEW METHODS FOR MEASURING LIVING CELL MECHANICS
Cell mechanobiology has become an emerging approach in medical applications for investigating and understanding cell physiology and pathology. Particularly, in oncology and reproductive medicine, mechanical measurements of cells are needed to understand the cellular processes in disease and in health. Knowledge on cell mechanics enables tailor-made treatments for cancer patients and patients with fertility problems. Considering the fact that cancer is responsible for ~25% of all deaths, and there are more than 186 million infertile couples globally, there is an urgent clinical need in both fields. Several measurement techniques have been developed to measure cellular mechanics; however, most of them are invasive, slow and have low resolution. In this project, I will develop two complementary techniques to non-invasively probe mechanical properties of living cells (breast and skin cancer cells, oocytes and embryos) in real time with high spatial and temporal resolution. The first technique, i.e. OPTIMA, utilizes optical interferometry to revolutionize micropipette aspiration to reach sub-nanometer resolution in real time. Second technique, i.e. ARES, is a novel acoustic resonance spectroscopy system that captures the unique sounds of a cell; resonance frequencies that are strongly correlated with the biophysical state of the cell. OPTIMA and ARES complement each other perfectly: OPTIMA is a static measurement technique that provides absolute mechanical values, whereas ARES captures dynamic changes and provides rapid relative information on the biophysical state of cells (e.g. cancer versus normal). In this talk, I will walk you through these technologies and explain how they work and what they offer.