24 MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
SHOCKING THE
CELLULAR WORLD
Engineers ’ collaborative work discovers force signature of cells undergoing electroporation
ACS Cover .
The idea to collaborate came to Rafael Davalos and Amrinder Nain in a conversation on the stairs . Davalos , the L . Preston Wade professor in biomedical engineering and mechanics , and Nain , associate professor of mechanical engineering , both have research space at the Kelly Hall location of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Virginia Tech .
“ We crossed paths on the second-floor staircase landing ,” said Nain . “ I said , ‘ I do force measurement of single cells , you use electric fields on cells .’ We knew of each other ’ s research and wondered what we could do with our combined expertise .’”
After brainstorming , they came up with a plan to see if they could study the forces exerted by a cell undergoing electroporation .
Combining their respective expertise in cell force measurement and electroporation in a single study published as the cover feature of American Chemical Society ’ s ( ACS ) flagship ACS Nano journal , Nain and Davolos discovered a mechanical response from cells that may open doors to medical advances . They discovered an unusual biphasic response that could change the way the medical field understands and approaches techniques using electroporation .
Electroporation has been used in many medical applications , such as gene transfection and electrochemotherapy , since the 1980s . The basic aim is to apply a voltage to a cell ; that voltage then pulses across the cell ’ s membrane and at certain magnitudes causes pores , or “ holes ,” to form in it . In this study , the researchers improved upon an established method of electroporation , in which medicines or genes are injected into holes formed in a cell ’ s membrane .
While much is known about the methods of creating these openings , the cell ’ s mechanism for resealing has remained largely unexplored . According to the researchers , by investigating the mechanical responses as cells contract following electroporation , they could gain a deeper understanding of how cells adapt their structure to promote their recovery . Unlocking cell recovery could in turn advance knowledge of cell mechanics and membrane permeability , as