Mechanical Properties and Differentiation Assessments of Neural Stem Cells with Pneumatic Micropipette Aspiration

The change in chemical and biological properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) before and after differentiating into neurons and glial cells has been well studied. However, there is lack of knowledge on the relationship between cell differentiation and alteration of cell mechanical features. Mechanical properties can reflect specific changes that occur with biochemical and cytological changes. Here, we present a robotic micromanipulation system for measuring the mechanical properties of single cells. This system consists of a suction micropipette, a robotic micromanipulator and an inverted microscope. A pneumatic micropipette aspiration method is utilized to measure the elastic properties of the cells. We found that the mechanical properties of NSCs belong to the solid state, however, neurons and glial cells are close to the liquid state. Further, NSCs are harder than neurons and glial cells.