Sensing and Modelling Mechanical Response in Large Deformation Indentation of Adherent Cell Using Atomic Force...

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Mechanics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Cellular mechanical behavior is crucial for biological processes.
• Tensegrity structures model intracellular cytoskeletal components like microtubules and microfilaments.
• Existing tensegrity models lack rigorous mathematical foundations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a mathematically sound, multi-level tensegrity model for adherent cells.
• To integrate this model with hyperelasticity for large deformation analysis.
• To accurately predict cell mechanical responses during atomic force microscopy (AFM) indentation.

Main Methods:

• Introduction of a rotationally symmetric prism-shaped tensegrity structure.
• Application of the force density method for mathematical self-equilibrium.
• Coupling the multi-level tensegrity model with a hyperelastic model for AFM indentation simulation.

Main Results:

• The integrated model achieved a high coefficient of determination (0.977) between computational and experimental force-distance curves.
• Cytoskeletal contribution to local stiffness decreased from 75% to 45% with increasing deformation.
• Hyperelastic component contribution to stiffness increased correspondingly with deformation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed multi-level tensegrity model provides a robust mathematical framework for cell mechanics.
• The integrated model accurately captures the mechanical behavior of adherent cells under AFM indentation.
• This approach offers new insights into the interplay between cytoskeletal and hyperelastic components during cell deformation.