Detecting cell-adhesive sites in extracellular matrix using force spectroscopy mapping

The cell microenvironment is composed of extracellular matrix (ECM), which contains specific binding sites that allow the cell to adhere to its surroundings. Cells employ focal adhesion proteins, which must be able to resist a variety of forces to bind to ECM. Current techniques for detecting the spatial arrangement of these adhesions, however, have limited resolution and those that detect adhesive forces lack sufficient spatial characterization or resolution. Using a unique application of force spectroscopy, we demonstrate here the ability to determine local changes in the adhesive property of a fibronectin substrate down to the resolution of the fibronectin antibody-functionalized tip diameter, ~20 nm. To verify the detection capabilities of force spectroscopy mapping (FSM), changes in loading rate and temperature were used to alter the bond dynamics and change the adhesion force. Microcontact printing was also used to pattern fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated fibronectin in order to mimic the discontinuous adhesion domains of native ECM. Fluorescent detection was used to identify the pattern while FSM was used to map cell adhesion sites in registry with the initial fluorescent image. The results show that FSM can be used to detect the adhesion domains at high resolution and may subsequently be applied to native ECM with randomly distributed cell adhesion sites.