Novel magnetic indenter for rheological analysis of thin biological sheet for regenerative medicine

A novel method is proposed for analyzing the mechanical properties of a thin sheet of cells or extracellular matrix cultured for regenerative medicine. A steel sphere is mounted onto the center of the sheet sample, placed over a circular aperture, and a loading force is exerted via an electromagnet with well-regulated current while the displacement of the sample center is optically detected. Details of the instrument and its performance are described. Loading and unloading experiment with stepwise magnetic force revealed that creep response of each of the cell sheet and matrix sheet can be expressed as a combination of a quasi-instantaneous deformation and two delayed elastic responses having different retardation times. The retardation time exhibited an increasing trend with the loading force. Close analysis of loading-force dependence and reversibility of the derived mechanical parameters revealed that these deformation modes are not independent but flexibly switches to each other depending on load magnitude and loading history. The cell sheet sample exhibited remarkable irreversibility between loading and unloading responses, which is attributed to response of the live cells to the sustained loading.