Cell Spheroids

Investigating the Continuum of Cell Spheroid Biomechanical Behavior with Spheroid Size

In collaboration with Dr. Jon Celli (Physics, UMass Boston).

Better predictive modeling and rational design of engineered biomaterials would help advance the field of tissue engineering. However, natural and engineered tissues are incredibly complex, and a unified biomechanical theory that captures observed tissue mechanics across length scales has not yet been developed. An important step is understanding the mechanical behavior of simpler multicellular systems that partially recreate biological complexity. This project will fill in a gap in knowledge around the critical biomechanical transition zone between single cells and multicellular aggregates that approach the tissue level and provide insights for theoretical modeling of multicellular biomechanical systems. 

Ww use microfluidics to systematically measure the viscoelastic mechanical properties of cell spheroids ranging in size from single cells (10 μm diameter) up to mesoscale multicellular spheroids (1 mm) and create a finite element model that captures the observed spheroid biomechanics in flow conditions. These experimental and modeling tools will be used to investigate the contributions of individual cells and cell-cell adhesions to the biomechanics of spheroids of different sizes, cell stiffnesses, and adhesion strengths.

Funding provided by NSF Award #2301804.