Sliding on cells

Headnote

Friction measurements on single cells may provide insights into cell-membrane behavior.

There are many medical devices such as stents, contact lenses and catheters where the sliding of cells against man-made materials is important. Additionally, there is also growing evidence that a number of disease states may be reflected in changes in the measured mechanical properties of cells, including frictional response. This opens the possibility that such measurements could be used diagnostically. Moreover, there are numerous reports that cells react biochemically to mechanical influences- a fact that could be of potential relevance in contact lens use.

In a previous column,1 we reported on work by professor Greg Sawyer's group at the University of Florida where tribometer measurements were used to determine the friction coefficients of various materials sliding on aortic endothelial celisi

In a recent study at the same institution, professor Scott Perry's group has measured and analyzed, in collaboration with Sawyer, Friction on single corneal epithelial cells in...