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Biocompatible micro tweezers for 3D hydrogel organoid array mechanical characterization.

Soliman Alhudaithy1,2, Kazunori Hoshino1

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.

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|January 24, 2022
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Summary

This study introduces novel biocompatible micromechanical tweezers for characterizing hydrogel organoid stiffness, significantly reducing sample volume and enabling high-throughput mechanical testing. The system offers a powerful new tool for regenerative engineering and biomedical applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Biocompatible materials science
  • Biomechanical engineering
  • Regenerative medicine

Background:

  • Established methods for mechanical characterization of organoids are often volume-intensive.
  • There is a growing need for high-throughput mechanical testing of 3D cell cultures.
  • Understanding organoid mechanics is crucial for applications in regenerative engineering and drug development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate novel biocompatible Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based micromechanical tweezers (μTweezers).
  • To enable precise stiffness characterization and manipulation of hydrogel-based organoids.
  • To offer a high-throughput, low-volume alternative to existing mechanical characterization techniques.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of PDMS-based μTweezers compatible with inverted optical microscopes.
  • Application and measurement of nano- to milli-Newton forces via cantilever deflection.
  • High-throughput mechanical compression characterization of arrayed 3D hydrogel-based organoids.

Main Results:

  • Achieved significant reduction in hydrogel volume usage (~0.22 μl/sample vs. ~157 μl/sample with parallel plate compression).
  • Demonstrated high throughput with an average output of 40 tests per hour.
  • Quantified stiffness changes in collagen I hydrogel organoids with and without SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells, revealing distinct mechanical responses.

Conclusions:

  • The developed μTweezers system is a promising tool for complementing established methods like AFM and PPC.
  • The system facilitates efficient, high-throughput mechanical characterization of micro-mesoscale 3D cell cultures.
  • This technology holds potential for advancing biomedical, biochemical, and regenerative engineering fields, as well as soft robotics and sensor applications.