Reliable measurement of elastic modulus of cells by nanoindentation in an atomic force microscope

Zhoulong Zhou, Alfonso H W Ngan, Bin Tang, Anxun Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

The elastic modulus of an oral cancer cell line UM1 is investigated by nanoindentation in an atomic force microscope with a flat-ended tip. The commonly used Hertzian method gives apparent elastic modulus which increases with the loading rate, indicating strong effects of viscoelasticity. On the contrary, a rate-jump method developed for viscoelastic materials gives elastic modulus values which are independent of the rate-jump magnitude. The results show that the rate-jump method can be used as a standard protocol for measuring elastic stiffness of living cells, since the measured values are intrinsic properties of the cells. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)134-142
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
Volume8
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2012

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: The work done in this article was supported by a grant from the University Grants Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, PR China (Project No. SEG-HKU06).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomaterials
  • Mechanics of Materials

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