Date of Award

5-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Engineering (ME)

Legacy Department

Bioengineering

Committee Chair/Advisor

Gao, Bruce Z

Committee Member

Webb , Kenneth

Committee Member

Li , Gang

Abstract

The analysis of the cellular microenvironment is an area that has received much
attention recently in the study of the tractions cells use for locomotion. Specifically, the
study of cardiac cell mechanics is of particular interest as cardiac dysfunction is one of
the leading causes of death in America. This progression is fueled by the need to have a
system capable of reproducing mechanical environments before, during and after a
dysfunctional event in order to fully characterize the causes and prevent any permanent
damage. The current study proposes a system capable of providing quantitative
measurements of the cellular microenvironment while concurrently allowing the same
environment to be spatially controlled through collagen deposition and alignment. In this
study, we have developed a system capable of characterizing the mechanical environment
of contractile cardiac myocytes and migratory cardiac fibroblasts while concurrently
allowing for fine control over cell position and alignment using a combination of
Traction Force Microscopy with a deformable substrate and Finite Element Analysis. The
results of this study indicate that this system can be applied to the study of the mechanical
nature of cardiac dysfunctions like hypertrophy, myocardial infarction and hypertension.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.