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Nanomechanical Probes of Single Corneal Epithelial Cells: Shear Stress and Elastic Modulus

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Abstract

Living human corneal epithelial cells have been probed in vitro via atomic force microscopy, revealing the frictional characteristics of single cells. Under cell media, measured shear stresses of 0.40 kPa demonstrate the high lubricity of epithelial cell surfaces in contact with a microsphere probe. The mechanical properties of individual epithelial cells have been further probed through nanometer scale indentation measurements. A simple elastic foundation model, based on experimentally verifiable parameters, is used to fit the indentation data, producing an effective elastic modulus of 16.5 kPa and highlighting the highly compliant nature of the cell surface. The elastic foundation model is found to more accurately fit the experimental data, to avoid unverifiable assumptions, and to produce a modulus significantly higher than that of the widely used Hertz–Sneddon model.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of this research by Alcon Research, Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Joelle P. Straehla, F. T. Limpoco & Scott S. Perry

  2. Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Natalia V. Dolgova & Benjamin G. Keselowsky

  3. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    W. Gregory Sawyer

Authors
  1. Joelle P. Straehla
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  2. F. T. Limpoco
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  3. Natalia V. Dolgova
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  4. Benjamin G. Keselowsky
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  5. W. Gregory Sawyer
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  6. Scott S. Perry
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott S. Perry.

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Straehla, J.P., Limpoco, F.T., Dolgova, N.V. et al. Nanomechanical Probes of Single Corneal Epithelial Cells: Shear Stress and Elastic Modulus. Tribol Lett 38, 107–113 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-010-9579-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-010-9579-3

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