An acoustic wave sensor incorporated with a microfluidic chip for analyzing muscle cell contraction

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Muscle cell mechanics are crucial for understanding cardiac function and disease.
• Existing methods for analyzing cardiomyocyte viscoelasticity can be complex and time-consuming.
• Lab-on-a-chip technologies offer miniaturized platforms for biological analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize a microfluidic chip integrated with a thickness-shear mode (TSM) acoustic wave sensor.
• To investigate the sensor's performance for analyzing cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation.
• To explore the potential of this platform for cardiovascular drug screening.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a microfluidic chip housing an AT-cut quartz crystal TSM sensor.
• Optimization of sensor parameters including electrode size, microfluidic channel, and liquid loading.
• Monitoring changes in acoustic wave properties of attached cardiomyocytes during contraction.
• Analysis of cell viscoelastic property alterations in response to chemical stimuli.

Main Results:

• The integrated TSM sensor successfully detected changes in acoustic wave properties of cardiomyocytes.
• These changes correlated with the cells' contractile and relaxation states, reflecting alterations in viscoelasticity.
• The effects of key fabrication and operational parameters on sensor performance were elucidated.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic chip-based TSM sensor provides a novel method for real-time analysis of cardiomyocyte mechanical properties.
• This platform demonstrates significant potential for high-throughput screening of cardiovascular drugs.
• The study highlights the utility of acoustic wave sensing in cellular biomechanics research.