Fabrication and characterization of silicone-based dielectric elastomer actuators for mechanical stimulation of living cells

Poulin, Alexandre; Rosset, Samuel; Shea, Herbert

doi:10.1117/12.2295687

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Reliably operating DEAs in conductive liquids is a challenge 45 . Our device is capable of stable operation during 24 h and tens of thousands of cycles while immersed in growth medium 40 , 46 (see Supplementary Note 6 ). As described in the Materials and methods section, we encapsulate the bottom of the DEA in a 125 μm thick oil layer that allows long-term high-resolution imaging through the device (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An ultra-fast mechanically active cell culture substrate

Poulin

Imboden

Sorba

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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We present a mechanically active cell culture substrate that produces complex strain patterns and generates extremely high strain rates. The transparent miniaturized cell stretcher is compatible with live cell microscopy and provides a very compact and portable alternative to other systems. A cell monolayer is cultured on a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) made of a 30 μm thick silicone membrane sandwiched between stretchable electrodes. A potential difference of several kV’s is applied across the electrodes to generate electrostatic forces and induce mechanical deformation of the silicone membrane. The DEA cell stretcher we present here applies up to 38% tensile and 12% compressive strain, while allowing real-time live cell imaging. It reaches the set strain in well under 1 ms and generates strain rates as high as 870 s−1, or 87%/ms. With the unique capability to stretch and compress cells, our ultra-fast device can reproduce the rich mechanical environment experienced by cells in normal physiological conditions, as well as in extreme conditions such as blunt force trauma. This new tool will help solving lingering questions in the field of mechanobiology, including the strain-rate dependence of axonal injury and the role of mechanics in actin stress fiber kinetics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With this compact assembly, cells are separated from the optics by less than 300 μm when imaging from below the device. We reported a detailed version of the fabrication process 46 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ultra-fast mechanically active cell culture substrate

Poulin

Imboden

Sorba

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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“…An organic silicone membrane (Wacker ELASTOSIL Film) was used as dielectric elastomer material due to its low viscosity elasticity, rapid response speed, and heat resistance. First, the silicone membrane was prestretched as demonstrated in previous research. − Moreover, a larger prestretch was applied in the x axis (λ x = 2.6, λ y = 1.2) to generate uniaxial movement. Then the prestretched membrane was fixed on a laser cutting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) frame with high temperature-resistant tape to support the prestretch of the membrane, and the PMMA frame was processed by laser cutting with 25 mm inner diameter and 5 mm height for storing cell culture medium.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Effect on Gene Transfection Based on Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

Gao

Zou

et al. 2020

ACS Appl. Bio Mater.

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Gene transfection has been widely applied in genome function and gene therapy. Although many efforts have been focused on designing carrier materials and transfection methods, the influence of mechanical stimulation on gene transfection efficiency has rarely been studied. Herein, dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA)-based stimulation bioreactors are designed to generate tensile and contractile stress on cells simultaneously. With the example of the EGFP transfection, cells with high membrane tension in the stretching stimulation regions had lower transfection efficiency, while the transfection efficiency of cells in the compressing regions tended to increase. Besides, the duty cycle and loading frequency of the applied stress on cells were also important factors that affect gene transfection efficiency. Furthermore, the pathways of cell endocytosis with the effect of mechanical stimulation were explored on the mechanism for the change of EGFP transfection efficiency. This design of the DEA-based bioreactor, as a strategy to study gene transfection efficiency, could be helpful for developing efficient transfection methods.

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“…4, Poulin et al [78] obtained the strain distribution at the ROI from both compressive and tensile modes through DIC. Analogously, it is easy to complete the characterization when the shapes of electrodes changed [45].…”

Section: Evaluation Of Deasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After that, the selection of DEMs can be flexible since various designs and fabrications may be chosen. For example, some works used Sylgard 186 (Dow Corning) as the DEM and covered it with Silbione LSR 4305 (BlueStar Silicones) as the biocompatible membrane, which contacts the biological samples directly [44,45]. Besides, as the alternative, other PDMS has been used as well [46][47][48].…”

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confidence: 99%