title: Characterization of uniaxial stiffness of extracellular matrix embedded with magnetic beads via bio-conjugation and under the influence of an external magnetic field.
abstract: In this paper, we study the deformation, and experimentally quantify the change in stiffness, of an extracellular matrix (ECM) embedded with magnetic beads that are bio-conjugated with the collagen fibers and under the influence of an external magnetic field. We develop an analytical model of the viscoelastic behavior of this modified ECM, and design and implement a stretch test to quantify (based on statistically meaningful experiment data) the resulting changes in its stiffness induced by the external magnetic field. The analytical results are in close agreement with that obtained from the experiments. We discuss the implication of these results that point to the possibility of creating desired stiffness gradients in an ECM in vitro to influence cell behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Biosystem and Micromechanics Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Program, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Sahan C B
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Herath
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Biosystem and Micromechanics Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Program, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Division of Bioengineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dong-an
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Bioengineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Qingguo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biosystem and Micromechanics Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Program, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asada
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Biosystem and Micromechanics Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Program, Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: mpechenp@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Peter C Y
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008863:Microspheres; D008954:Models, Biological; D019809:Streptavidin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen; D019809:Streptavidin