An explicit model to extract viscoelastic properties of cells from AFM force-indentation curves

Abuhattum S, Mokbel D, Mueller P, Soteriou D, Guck J, Aland S (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

iScience Elsevier

Book Volume: 25

Article Number: 104016

Journal Issue: 4

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104016

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is widely used for quantifying the mechanical properties of soft materials such as cells. AFM force-indentation curves are conventionally fitted with a Hertzian model to extract elastic properties. These properties solely are, however, insufficient to describe the mechanical properties of cells. Here, we expand the analysis capabilities to describe the viscoelastic behavior while using the same force-indentation curves. Our model gives an explicit relation of force and indentation and extracts physically meaningful mechanical parameters. We first validated the model on simulated force-indentation curves. Then, we applied the fitting model to the force-indentation curves of two hydrogels with different crosslinking mechanisms. Finally, we characterized HeLa cells in two cell cycle phases, interphase and mitosis, and showed that mitotic cells have a higher apparent elasticity and a lower apparent viscosity. Our study provides a simple method, which can be directly integrated into the standard AFM framework for extracting the viscoelastic properties of materials.

Authors with CRIS profile

Jochen Guck

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light DE Germany (DE) Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Abuhattum, S., Mokbel, D., Mueller, P., Soteriou, D., Guck, J., & Aland, S. (2022). An explicit model to extract viscoelastic properties of cells from AFM force-indentation curves. iScience, 25(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104016

MLA:

Abuhattum, Shada, et al. "An explicit model to extract viscoelastic properties of cells from AFM force-indentation curves." iScience 25.4 (2022).

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