Microscope Mountable Stretcher for Cells and Tissues
IPTeL Tracking ID: MS-ME-2019-034
The present invention relates to the field of mechanotransduction and provides with a microscope mountable device to stretch cell seeded membranes and tissue constructs using multi-axial controlled protocols
A key requirement in the fabrication of stretching devices for such applications is the ability to independently control the amplitude and frequency of stretch in orthogonal directions, to maintain strain homogeneity in thin planar materials, and measure stresses and strains real-time during experimentation.
Background
Cells are well understood to have the ability to sense and respond to mechanical stimuli – referred to as mechanotransduction. Understanding of mechanotransduction is of critical importance to improve clinical diagnosis and understanding of medical pathologies. Complexity involved in in-vivo biological systems necessitates a need for better in-vitro technologies to closely mimic the cells’ microenvironment using induced mechanical strain.
There is a need for such improved in-vitro technologies or cell stretching devices that facilitate better understanding of the cell response to mechanical stimuli.
The present invention closes this technology gap by enabling use of a variety of mechanical testing methods, including monotonic and cyclic uniaxial tests, equi-biaxial and non-equibiaxial tests, coupled with real-time imaging, to gain insights on the structure-property relations in specimen under study.
Technology
The present invention relates to the design and fabrication of a stretching device for multi- axial stretching of elastomeric membranes, cell seeded tissue constructs, and tissues.
This invention provides with a stretching device that allows for high-resolution in situ imaging and visualization of changes to cellular morphologies, sub-cellular structures, and the ECM organization in tissues under cyclic stretch. The invention further provides a means to quantify cell tractions under stretch using the device.