Abstract
This paper presents a cell compression stimulus microdevice intended to evaluate the real-time response of cells to compression stimuli. The presented device consists of cell inlet ports, a pressure inlet port, a gasket, microchannels, culture chambers, and a diaphragm on the culture chamber for applying compressive pressure to cells. Compression stimuli applied to the cells can be controlled by regulating the expansion of the diaphragm via a pressure control. The device permits the observation of cellular responses to compressive pressure in real time because it is made of transparent materials and stimulates the cells without deforming the cell culture surface, when observed by optical microscope. We observed the cellular deformation and response behavior using a fabricated microdevice in real time. The changes of intracellular calcium concentration before and after compressive stimuli were observed by the fabricated device. Also, the intracellular maximum strain part and strain distribution of a cell that received compression stimulus were clarified by FEM analysis. These results indicate the device is expected to clarify the cellular mechanoreceptor mechanisms and signal transduction pathways and facilitate the control of stem cell differentiation by a combination of the experimental results and FEM analysis results.
