Measuring accurately liquid and tissue surface tension with a compression plate tensiometer

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Apparent tissue surface tension quantifies cell-cell cohesion.
• It serves as an indicator for cellular rearrangements in embryonic development and cancer progression.
• Current measurement methods rely on approximations that have not been rigorously tested.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare existing methods for measuring tissue surface tension.
• To introduce and validate a novel method, the local polynomial fit (LPF).
• To assess the impact of contact angle on measurement accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a novel parallel compression plate tensiometer.
• Compared two established tissue surface tension measurement techniques.
• Developed and applied a local polynomial fit (LPF) method based on droplet/aggregate profiles.
• Incorporated contact angle measurements.
• Validated methods using numerical simulations of compressed droplet profiles.

Main Results:

• Existing methods for measuring tissue surface tension are sensitive to the contact angle between the plate and the droplet/aggregate.
• Many previously reported surface tension values may be inaccurate due to improper handling of the contact angle.
• The novel LPF method provides accurate measurements independent of the contact angle.
• Numerical simulations confirmed the robustness and sensitivity of the tested methods.

Conclusions:

• Accurate measurement of tissue surface tension requires careful consideration of the contact angle.
• The local polynomial fit (LPF) method offers a more reliable approach for quantifying cell-cell cohesion.
• This work highlights potential inaccuracies in prior studies and provides a refined methodology for future research in developmental biology and cancer progression.