cellular matrix, which structurally and func-
tionally support these cells.
By altering the conditions of the matrix, such
as fiber diameter, density, and spacing, or
introducing an external force, NFM allowed
them to understand how cells respond to the
multitude of forces that they experience with-
in tissues.
“Everything in nature exerts and experiences
a physical force,” said Nain. “This platform
measures both simultaneously.”
Phillippi studies the matrix and cell forces in
blood vessel smooth muscle cells as a window
to understanding aortic disease.
“The key idea behind our study is to show
that disease mechanisms might be detectable
at the single cell level,” Phillippi said.
Nain and Phillippi used cells from healthy
individuals in the current study, but in the
future, they plan to take advantage of the large
repository of patient samples from healthy
and diseased individuals established by Thom-
as Gleason, chief of the Division of Cardiac
Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, to de-
termine force signatures for different types of
cells in blood vessels under various conditions.
The technique has much broader applica-
tions as it represents a new method of disease
modeling that could be built into drug testing
platforms in the future. In a broader context,
Nain thinks the ability to achieve precise
control on fiber diameter, spacing, and orien-
tation to mimic native fibrous environments,
will allow NFM to interrogate the push and
pulls in a cell’s journey in developmental, dis-
ease, and repair biology.
The expanded research team is composed of
two undergraduate students, Christopher De-
laughter of Mount Jackson, Virginia, and Mat-
thew Apperson of Norfolk, Virginia; graduate
student Alexander Hall, of Gastonia, North
Carolina; and Kevin Sheets, former doctoral
student, all of the Virginia Tech Department
of Mechanical Engineering. The team also in-
cludes Patrick Chan, a clinical resident of the
University of Pittsburgh.
Nanonet Force Microscropy (NFM) can measure the contractile inside-out
forces of a single cell attached to multiple fibers. Shown here are f-actin
(red), paxillin (green), and the nucleus (blue). Scale bar = 20 micron.