Mecânica celular em superfícies inclinadas

Abstract

With the growing number of studies involving structured substrates, investigating changes in their viscoelastic parameters or cell motility as determinants for characterizing diseases, metabolic activities, or cytoskeletal conformation, cell mechanics has become a relevant subject of study for understanding biological systems. In this work we aim to apply one of the best-known problems in physics, the inclined plane, to biological systems and verify its effects when subjected to different angles. The aim is to propose a new way of characterizing and analysing the effects of inclined surfaces on fibroblasts in vitro, measuring their cell motility through optical microscopy observations and the effects on cell stiffness and viscoelasticity in Microscopio de For¸ca Atˆomica (AFM), from a PDMS substrate constructed from a 3D printed mould. Optical microscopy data revealed a certain difficulty in adhering to surfaces, however, for some cells that managed to adhere, it was possible to notice a tendency to align with the orientation of the plane. AFM data revealed that there is a significant difference in cell stiffness on the inclined plane compared to the flat plane.