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arXiv · 1003.4372

Aspiration of biological viscoelastic drops

Karine Guevorkian·Marie-Josée Colbert·Mélanie Durth·Sylvie Dufour·Françoise Brochard-Wyart
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Abstract

Spherical cellular aggregates are in vitro systems to study the physical and biophysical properties of tissues. We present a novel approach to characterize the mechanical properties of cellular aggregates using micropipette aspiration technique. We observe an aspiration in two distinct regimes, a fast elastic deformation followed by a viscous flow. We develop a model based on this viscoelastic behavior to deduce the surface tension, viscosity, and elastic modulus. A major result is the increase of the surface tension with the applied force, interpreted as an effect of cellular mechanosensing.

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Karine Guevorkian, Marie-Josée Colbert, Mélanie Durth, Sylvie Dufour, Françoise Brochard-Wyart. 2010-03-23. Aspiration of biological viscoelastic drops. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.104.218101

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