Simultaneous mechano-optical measurements for adhesion dynamics of adherent cells

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K15152
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 28050:Nano/micro-systems-related
• Research Institution: Toyama Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Tsukagoshi Takuya 富山県立大学, 工学部, 講師 (90782920)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: MEMSセンサ / 表面プラズモン共鳴 / 接着性細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To measure cell adhesion by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), we constructed an SPR sensor setup. Although it is common to excite SPR on a metal film deposited on a glass substrate, in this study, a gold film deposited on a silicon wafer was used in consideration of later force measurement. SPR was excited while the medium was in contact with the gold film, and cell suspensions were added to the medium while the SPR was detected by the current; the SPR current decreased over 10 min and then stabilized. This is assumed to be due to the adhesion of cells to the gold film, which increased the effective refractive index in the vicinity of the gold film, causing the SPR current to decrease. The contraction force of the cells was also measured using a MEMS force sensor.

Free Research Field

センサ工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

細胞の機能や構造については多くの研究が重ねられ、詳細な知見が得られている。特に、蛍光顕微鏡の発達が細胞生物学において果たした役割は計り知れない。本研究は蛍光顕微鏡のような視覚的手段の苦手な部分を補い、細胞接着など、細胞小器官で起こる動的現象を捉えようとするものである。例えば、接着斑のはたらきについての教科書の説明では、細胞と基質が接着している断面図が示されるが、実際には見ることができない。細胞を蛍光染色すれば接着斑が形成されたことはわかるが、基質に接着したかどうかはわからない。細胞接着のダイナミクスをSPRで定量化できれば、そこに介在する生命の原理や物理現象を知ることができる。