ArticlePloS one2017
Stiffness analysis of 3D spheroids using microtweezers.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Soft microfingers with flexible tactile sensor using liquid metal for in situ evaluation of cellular spheroid stiffness.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- TheMaterials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Role of atomic force microscopy in characterization of heterotypic cancer spheroids and their interaction with microplastic particles.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Navigating Cancer Treatment: A Journey from 2D to 3D Cancer Models and Nanoscale Therapies.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- A microfluidic rheometer for tumor mechanics and invasion studies.Lab on a chip · 2025Article
- A microfluidic rheometer for tumor mechanics and invasion studies.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Rheological transition driven by matrix makes cancer spheroids resilient under confinement.Life science alliance · 2025Article
- Cisplatin resistance alters ovarian cancer spheroid formation and impacts peritoneal invasion.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Mathematical Models for Ultrasound Elastography: Recent Advances to Improve Accuracy and Clinical Utility.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- iMaterials today. Bio · 2024Article
- Lightsheet microscopy integrates single-cell optical visco-elastography and fluorescence cytometry of 3D live tissues.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Multiscale elasticity mapping of biological samples in 3D at optical resolution.Acta biomaterialia · 2024Article
- Optical Elastography for Micropressure Characterization of Zebrafish Embryonic Cardiac Development.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2024Article
- Emergence of nanoscale viscoelasticity from single cancer cells to established tumors.Biomaterials · 2024Article
- Analyzing force measurements of multi-cellular clusters comprising indeterminate geometries.Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology · 2024Article
- Thermo-Mechanical Fluid-Structure Interaction Numerical Modelling and Experimental Validation of MEMS Electrothermal Actuators for Aqueous Biomedical Applications.Micromachines · 2023Article
- Engineering tools for quantifying and manipulating forces in epithelia.Biophysics reviews · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We describe a novel mechanical characterization method that has directly measured the stiffness of cancer spheroids for the first time to our knowledge. Stiffness is known to be a key parameter that characterizes cancerous and normal cells. Atomic force microscopy or optical tweezers have been typically used for characterization of single cells with the measurable forces ranging from sub pN to a few hundred nN, which are not suitable for measurement of larger 3D cellular structures such as spheroids, whose mechanical characteristics have not been fully studied. Here, we developed microtweezers that measure forces from sub hundred nN to mN. The wide force range was achieved by the use of replaceable cantilevers fabricated from SU8, and brass. The chopstick-like motion of the two cantilevers facilitates easy handling of samples and microscopic observation for mechanical characterization. The cantilever bending was optically tracked to find the applied force and sample stiffness. The efficacy of the method was demonstrated through stiffness measurement of agarose pillars with known concentrations. Following the initial system evaluation with agarose, two cancerous (T47D and BT474) and one normal epithelial (MCF 10A) breast cell lines were used to conduct multi-cellular spheroid measurements to find Young's moduli of 230, 420 and 1250 Pa for BT474, T47D, and MCF 10A, respectively. The results showed that BT474 and T47D spheroids are six and three times softer than epithelial MCF10A spheroids, respectively. Our method successfully characterized samples with wide range of Young's modulus including agarose (25-100 kPa), spheroids of cancerous and non-malignant cells (190-200 μm, 230-1250 Pa) and collagenase-treated spheroids (215 μm, 130 Pa).
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