Design of a Device to Cyclically Stretch Isolated Cells

Years of research in the field of mechanobiology has shown mechanical forces, including tension and compression, significantly impact various cellular functions such as cell proliferation and differentiation, and matrix protein secretion. Many devices are available to study cellular responses to substrate strain. However, real-time data of dynamic cellular responses is not available at WPI. We have developed a novel stretch device optimized for live-cell imaging. The device fits on an inverted Zeiss microscope and applies cyclic stretch for on the silicone STREX 4cm2 X-Y culture wells. The maximum stretch is 20%, and frequency of 1.9 Hz (114 rpm). This device will be used in the future to study molecular dynamics, and cell response to mechanotransduction