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Communication

Size Matters: Rethinking Hertz Model Interpretation for Cell Mechanics Using AFM

1
Department of Mechanics, Biomechanics and Mechatronics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 4, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
2
Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Náměstí Sítná 3105, 27201 Kladno, Czech Republic
3
Laboratory of Biophysics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Trzaska 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(13), 7186; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137186
Submission received: 15 May 2024 / Revised: 17 June 2024 / Accepted: 25 June 2024 / Published: 29 June 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophysics and Mechanical Properties of Cells 2.0)

Abstract

Cell mechanics are a biophysical indicator of cell state, such as cancer metastasis, leukocyte activation, and cell cycle progression. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used technique to measure cell mechanics, where the Young modulus of a cell is usually derived from the Hertz contact model. However, the Hertz model assumes that the cell is an elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous material and that the indentation is small compared to the cell size. These assumptions neglect the effects of the cytoskeleton, cell size and shape, and cell environment on cell deformation. In this study, we investigated the influence of cell size on the estimated Young’s modulus using liposomes as cell models. Liposomes were prepared with different sizes and filled with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or hyaluronic acid (HA) to mimic the cytoplasm. AFM was used to obtain the force indentation curves and fit them to the Hertz model. We found that the larger the liposome, the lower the estimated Young’s modulus for both PBS-filled and HA-filled liposomes. This suggests that the Young modulus obtained from the Hertz model is not only a property of the cell material but also depends on the cell dimensions. Therefore, when comparing or interpreting cell mechanics using the Hertz model, it is essential to account for cell size.
Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); cell mechanics; cell stiffness; Hertz contact model atomic force microscopy (AFM); cell mechanics; cell stiffness; Hertz contact model

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mendová, K.; Otáhal, M.; Drab, M.; Daniel, M. Size Matters: Rethinking Hertz Model Interpretation for Cell Mechanics Using AFM. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 7186. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137186

AMA Style

Mendová K, Otáhal M, Drab M, Daniel M. Size Matters: Rethinking Hertz Model Interpretation for Cell Mechanics Using AFM. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024; 25(13):7186. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137186

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mendová, Katarína, Martin Otáhal, Mitja Drab, and Matej Daniel. 2024. "Size Matters: Rethinking Hertz Model Interpretation for Cell Mechanics Using AFM" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25, no. 13: 7186. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137186

APA Style

Mendová, K., Otáhal, M., Drab, M., & Daniel, M. (2024). Size Matters: Rethinking Hertz Model Interpretation for Cell Mechanics Using AFM. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(13), 7186. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137186

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