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Characterizing in situ poroelastic properties of cytoplasm by the translation of a rigid spherical inclusion

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Abstract

Poroelasticity of cytoplasm is a rate- and size-dependent biphasic material behavior that reflects the normal activities and pathological states of cells, mainly caused by the migration of fluid molecules and the deformation of porous solid skeleton (protein scaffold). While micro/nano-indentation tests have been extensively used to characterize the poroelasticity of a cell, characterizing the in situ poroelasticity of cytoplasm remains elusive. In this study, based on the theory of the translation of a rigid spherical inclusion, we proposed a new method to characterize the in situ poroelasticity of cytoplasm. Based on data from optical/magnetic tweezers tests, we estimated three key poroelasticity parameters—shear modulus, Poisson ratio and diffusion coefficient—of cytoplasm for a variety of cells, including cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells of bovine capillary, and fibroblasts. The proposed method provides a powerful tool for in situ measurement of poroelastic properties of cytoplasm via optical/magnetic tweezers.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 12032010, 11532009, 11972185, 11902155, and 12002156), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant BK20190382), the Foundation of “Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Bionic Functional Materials”, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant 2020M671473), and the Foundation for the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Xuechao Sun, Yonggang Liu, Shaobao Liu & Tian Jian Lu

  2. Xi’an Modern Chemistry Research Institute, Xi’an, 710065, China

    Xin Chen

  3. State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Xin Chen & Moxiao Li

  4. Bioinspired Engineering & Biomechanics Center (BEBC), Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Ming Wang, Moxiao Li & Tian Jian Lu

  5. Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Ming Wang

Authors
  1. Xuechao Sun
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  2. Xin Chen
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  3. Ming Wang
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  4. Moxiao Li
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  5. Yonggang Liu
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  6. Shaobao Liu
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  7. Tian Jian Lu
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Correspondence to Shaobao Liu or Tian Jian Lu.

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Executive Editor: Hong-Yuan Jiang

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Sun, X., Chen, X., Wang, M. et al. Characterizing in situ poroelastic properties of cytoplasm by the translation of a rigid spherical inclusion. Acta Mech. Sin. 37, 194–200 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-020-01038-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-020-01038-y

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