title: An electromagnetic cell-stretching device for mechanotransduction studies of olfactory ensheathing cells.
abstract: Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are primary candidates for cell transplantation therapy to repair spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the post transplantation survival of these cells remains a major hurdle for a success using this therapy. Mechanical stimuli may contribute to the maintenance of these cells and thus, mechanotransduction studies of OECs may serve as a key benefit to identify strategies for improvement in cell transplantation. We developed an electromagnetic cell stretching device based on a single sided uniaxial stretching approach to apply tensile strain to OECs in culture. This paper reports the design, simulation and characterisation of the stretching device with preliminary experimental observations of OECs in vitro. The strain field of the deformable membrane was investigated both experimentally and numerically. Heterogeneity of the device provided an ideal platform for establishing strain requirement for the OEC culture. The cell stretching system developed may serve as a tool in exploring the mechanobiology of OECs for future SCI transplantation research.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Center, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Kamble
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harshad
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Myeongjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sungsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.affiliation: Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Raja K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Vadivelu
authors.affiliation: Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: St John
authors.affiliation: Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Center, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia. nam-trung.nguyen@griffith.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nam-Trung
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D017690:Cell Transplantation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D004867:Equipment Design; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Biomedical device; Cell stretching; Mechanobiology; Mechanotransduction