Single cell contractility studies based on compact moire system over periodic gratings

摘要

Abnormal vascular cell contractile performance is a hallmark of cardiovascular diseases. Conventional cell force measurement technique requires individually tracking the sensing units and complex computation efforts for further studying cell contractility. We developed instead a robust and simple compact optical moire system that measures phase changes encoded in carrier moire patterns generated from two layers of gratings. Cell mechanics study including cell contractile forces and stress and strain distributions during normal and abnormal cell contractions can thus be conveniently analyzed. The distinct signals from moire patterns in longitudinal and transverse directions revealed abnormal cell mechanical contractility linked to cardiovascular disease.