We have developed a microfluidic chip that mimics the micro-environment of a circulatory tumour cell and assesses its impact on its stress-adaptive capabilities. In advanced stages of cancer, tumour cells successfully proliferate through tiny capillaries in human bodies, and the tumour-on-a-chip device has demonstrated a novel mechanism by which it occurs. By utilizing our own innovated Ultra-Soft PDMS based Traction Force Microscopy technique on a Chip for measuring shear stress on a cell, we have unraveled a unique way by which cancer cells offer abnormal shape adaptation through dynamic alteration of the cell-membrane fluidity, in an effort to survive in a stressful micro-environment. Invention of this technique has led to the possibility of getting a clue on the metastatic potential of cancer cells as cancer spreads across a body, and is expected to throw light on a newly developed revolutionary cancer treatment protocol. By using the same technique, we have has recently discovered oscillatory shear stress induced calcium flickers in osteoblast cells, a phenomenon that remained hitherto unknown.

References

• J. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Mechanical stress-induced autophagic response: a cancer-enabling characteristic?”, Seminars in Cancer Biology (Accepted for publication)
• J. Das, T. Agarwal, S. Chakraborty, T. K. Maiti, “Compressive stress-induced autophagy promotes invasion of HeLa cells by facilitating protein turnover in vitro”, Experimental Cell Research (Accepted for publication)
• H. Banerjee, B. Roy, K. Chaudhury, B. Srinivasan, S. Chakraborty, H. Ren, “Frequency-induced morphology alterations in micro confined biological cells”, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing (accepted for publication: doi: 10.1007/s11517-018-1908-y)
• J. Das, S. Maji, T. Agarwal, S. Chakraborty, T. K. Maiti, “Hemodynamic shear stress induces protective autophagy in HeLa cells through lipid raft-mediated mechanotransduction”, Clinical & Experimental Metastasis, vol. 35, pp. 135-148, 2018
• D. Carugo, L. Capretto, B. Roy, M. Carboni, M. Caine, A. L Lewis, M. Hill, S. Chakraborty, X. Zhang, “Spatiotemporal dynamics of doxorubicin elution from embolic beads within a biomimetic microvascular network”, Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 214, pp. 62-75, 2015
• B. Roy, G. Chattopadhyay, D. Mishra, T. Das, S. Chakraborty, T. K. Maiti, “On-chip lectin microarray for glycoprofiling of different gastritis and gastric cancer”, Biomicrofluidics, vol. 8, pp. 034107(1-14), 2014
• B. Roy, T. Das, D. Mishra, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Oscillatory Shear Stress Induced Calcium Flickers in Osteoblast Cells”, Integrative Biology, vol. 6, pp. 289-299, 2014
• T. Das, S. Chakraborty, “Perspective: Flicking with Flow: Can Microfluidics Revolutionize the Cancer Research?”, Biomicrofluidics, 7, 011811 (1-20), 2013
• T. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Flow Shear Induced Changes in Membrane Fluidity: Dependence on Cell-Substrate Adhesion Strength”, Current Analytical Chemistry, vol. 9, pp. 9-15, 2013
• T. Das, D. Carugo, X. Zhang, S. Chakraborty, “Oscillation Dynamics of Embolic Microspheres in Flows with Red Blood Cell Suspensions”, Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 112, pp. 124701 (1-7), 2012
• N. Bose, T. Das, D. Chakraborty, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Enhancement of Static Incubation Time in Microfluidic Cell Culture Platforms Exploiting Extended Air-Liquid Interface”, Lab on a Chip, vol. 12, pp. 69-73, 2012
• T. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Nanodomain stabilization dynamics in plasma membranes of biological cells”, Physical Review E, vol. 83, pp. 021909(1-6), 2011
• T. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Augmented Stress-Responsive Characteristics of Cell Lines in Narrow Confinements”, Integrative Biology, vol. 3, pp. 684-695, 2011
• B. Roy, T. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Effect of Fluidic Transport on the Reaction Kinetics in Lectin Microarrays”, Analytica Chimica Acta, vol. 701, pp. 6-14, 2011
• T. Das, T. K. Maiti, S. Chakraborty, “Traction Force Microscopy On-Chip: Shear Deformation of Fibroblast Cells”, Lab on a Chip, vol. 8, pp. 1308-1318, 2008