A low-cost, user-friendly rheo-optical compression assay to measure mechanical properties of cell spheroids in standard cell culture plates

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost, easy-to-use rheo-optical compression assay that enables straightforward measurement of mechanical properties of cell spheroids using standard lab equipment and smartphones, broadening access to mechanobiology research.

Contribution

It presents an innovative, accessible method for mechanical characterization of cell spheroids using microscopy glass coverslips and image analysis, requiring minimal specialized equipment.

Findings

Method is low-cost and user-friendly.

Compatible with standard microscopes and smartphones.

Facilitates widespread adoption in biomedical labs.

Abstract

The mechanical characterization of cell spheroids, one of the most widely used 3D biology models in vitro, is a hotspot of current research on the role played by the mechanical response of cells and tissues. The techniques proposed so far in the literature, while providing important scientific insights, require a specialized equipment and technical skills which are not usually available in cell biology facilities. Here, we present an innovative rheo-optical compression assay based on microscopy glass coverslips as the load applied to cell spheroids in standard cell culture plates and on image acquisition with an optical microscope or even a smartphone equipped with adequate magnification lenses. Mechanical properties can be simply obtained by correlating the applied load to the deformation of cell spheroids measured by image analysis. The low-cost, user-friendly features of the proposed technique can boost mechanobiology research making it easily affordable to any biomedical lab equipped with cell culture facilities.