THE μHAMMER: INVESTIGATING CELLULAR RESPONSE TO IMPACT WITH A HIGH THROUGHPUT MICROFLUIDIC MEMS DEVICE

We report the application of stress to biological cells at unprecedented strain (50%), strain rate (180,000 s -1 ), and throughput (1,800 cells/min) using a high-speed, high actuation force magnetically-driven MEMS chip. This device is uniquely suited to study the effects of impact on large populations of inherently heterogeneous cells, enabling statistical analysis that can elucidate the cell-level ramifications of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). To demonstrate the capabilities of the Hammer, we applied TBIrelevant strains and strain rates to human leukemic K562 cells then monitored their proliferation for 9 days. We observed significantly repressed proliferation of the hit cells compared to both the negative and sham controls, indicating success in applying sublethal cellular damage.