A new type of "biomolecular tweezers" could show how mechanical forces could affect cell and protein biomechanical activity.
The microscopic tweezers use "opposing magnetic and electrophoretic forces" to stretch cells and proteins, holding them in place to be studied, a Georgia Institute of Technology news release reported.
Arrays of the tweezers could be laid down, allowing researchers to look at several molecules and cells at once. This could help researchers gain insight into the how mechanical forces affect the particles.
"Our lab has been very interested in mechanical-chemical switches in the extracellular matrix, but we currently have a difficult time interrogating these mechanisms and discovering how they work in vivo," Thomas Barker, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. "This device could help biologists and biomedical engineers answer questions that cannot be answered right now."
The device could allow researchers determine how putting stress on different binding sites would affect the process.
"Having a device like this will allow us to interrogate what the specific binding sites are and what the specific binding triggers are," Thomas Barker, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University said in the news release. "Right now, we know very little about this area when it comes to protein biochemistry."
At the center of the tweezers are polystyrene microbeads containing superparamagnetic nanoparticles, which is what allows the device to keep a grasp on its subject. The magnet pulls in the bead while an electrophoretic force pushes it away.
The device simultaneously pushes and pulls on the same particle," Barker explained. "This allows us to hold the sample at a very specific position above the magnet."
Wilbur Lam, an assistant professor in the Coulter Department is particularly interested in applying the finding to blood cells.
"Blood cells also respond differently, biologically, when you squeeze them and when you stretch them," he said. "For instance, we have learned that mechanics has a lot to do with atherosclerosis, but the systems we currently have for studying this mechanism can only look at single-cell events. If you can look at many cells at once, you get a much better statistical view of what's happening, L am said in the news release.
The team hopes to find other applications for the tweezers as well.
