Mechanical Property Detection of Cardiomyocytes by Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

Cells are the basic unit of live activities, and the cell mechanical properties can effectively reflect their functions and statuses. Furthermore, the cell mechanical properties can effectively characterize the cellular function. In this work, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to detected the mechanical properties of cardiomyocytes. We measured Young's modulus, adhesion and the beating force of nuclei, cytoplasm and margin of cardiomyocytes extracted from a 1–3 day newborn mouse. The mechanical properties of different areas of the cardiomyocytes were statistical analysis provides useful information for the diagnosis of myocardial disease and the pharmaceutical testing and screening.