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Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Equibiaxial Stretching Device for High Magnification Live-Cell Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: June 13, 2025
Uniaxial Cyclic Cell Stretching Device for Accelerating Cellular Studies
Sharda Yadav1, Pradip Singha1, Nhat-Khuong Nguyen1
1Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre (QMNC), Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia.
Abstract:
Cellular response to mechanical stimuli is a crucial factor for maintaining cell homeostasis. The interaction between the extracellular matrix and mechanical stress plays a significant role in organizing the cytoskeleton and aligning cells. Tools that apply mechanical forces to cells and tissues, as well as those capable of measuring the mechanical properties of biological cells, have greatly contributed to our understanding of fundamental mechanobiology. These tools have been extensively employed to unveil the substantial influence of mechanical cues on the development and progression of various diseases. In this report, we present an economical and high-performance uniaxial cell stretching device. This paper reports the detailed operation concept of the device, experimental design, and characterization. The device was tested with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The experimental results agree well with previously documented morphological changes resulting from stretching forces on cancer cells. Remarkably, our new device demonstrates comparable cellular changes within 30 min compared with the previous 2 h stretching duration. This third-generation device significantly improved the stretching capabilities compared with its previous counterparts, resulting in a remarkable reduction in stretching time and a substantial increase in overall efficiency. Moreover, the device design incorporates an open-source software interface, facilitating convenient parameter adjustments such as strain, stretching speed, frequency, and duration. Its versatility enables seamless integration with various optical microscopes, thereby yielding novel insights into the realm of mechanobiology.

