Ct. Hung et Jl. Williams, A METHOD FOR INDUCING EQUI-BIAXIAL AND UNIFORM STRAINS IN ELASTOMERICMEMBRANES USED AS CELL SUBSTRATES, Journal of biomechanics, 27(2), 1994, pp. 227-232
A device is described which is designed to bring about uniform and equ
i-biaxial strains of 0.04-0.4% on a circular elastomeric sheet upon wh
ich cells are grown in a monolayer. Strain measurements at six differe
nt radii of the well provide evidence of the uniformity of the strain
field over the 2.54 cm diameter of the well with a mean strain of 0.15
% and a standard deviation of 0.01% strain. Major advantages of the sy
stem over those previously described are that(l) the substrate remains
in the same plane throughout the application of stretch, (2) the devi
ce is designed to provide a state of uniform equi-biaxial strain to th
e entire substrate of the cells and (3) all cells 'see' the same strai
n field, no matter what their orientation. This allows for real-time o
ptical monitoring of the cells throughout the stretching cycle of the
cell substrate. In this way, changes in the cell membrane, cell nucleu
s, cytoskeleton and in fluorescently labelled calcium can be monitored
microscopically during application of an equi-biaxial mechanical stre
tch.