Author(s)

Ran Rao, Haoxiang Yang

Corresponding Author

Ran Rao

ABSTRACT

Cells in living organisms are in a restricted environment.Many studies have revealed different phenotypes of cells in different restricted niches. In order to study the effect of this microenvironment on the physiological activity of cells, we have designed a restricted device that can independently control ECM stiffness and the degree of physical confinement. Such device can not only precisely adjust the substrate stiffness from 1kPa to 40kPa, but also can give a microconfinement to cell which can achieve to about 3 microns. Using this device to study cancer cell migration and stem cell differentiation may reveal some new characteristics of cells in confined spaces.

KEYWORDS

Confinement ECM stiffness mechanobiology polyacrylamide