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. 2021 Apr 8;2(2):100437.
doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100437. eCollection 2021 Jun 18.

Cyclic uniaxial cell stretching in tissue culture using a LEGO®-based mechanical stretcher and a polydimethylsiloxane stretchable vessel

Etienne Boulter  1 , Chloé C Féral  1
Affiliations

Cyclic uniaxial cell stretching in tissue culture using a LEGO®-based mechanical stretcher and a polydimethylsiloxane stretchable vessel

Etienne Boulter et al. STAR Protoc. .

Abstract

Mechanical signals are essential for the regulation of many biological processes. Therefore, it has become paramount to account for these mechanical parameters when exploring biological processes. Here, we describe a protocol to apply cyclic uniaxial stretch on cells in culture using a LEGO®-based mechanical stretcher and a flexible custom-made polydimethylsiloxane culture vessel as well as validated downstream applications. While this system offers an out-of-the-box limited type of simulation, it provides a reliable and low-cost opportunity to perform cell stretching. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Boulter et al. (2020).

Keywords: Biophysics; Cell Biology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 2
Figure 2
PDMS plate casting mold assembly and PDMS plate casting (A) PDMS casting mold disassembled. (B)Casting mold assembled. (C) PDMS casting mold with fully cured PDMS plate still assembled. (D) disassembled casting mold with PDMS plate. (E) zone of potential corner rupture upon excessive pulling during PDMS plate unmolding. (F) unmolding of the PDMS plate. (G) example of ruptured PDMS plate.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the cyclic uniaxial cell stretching system (A) stretchable PDMS plate and its LEGO® adaptors. (B) Mechanical stretcher and its PDMS plate with adaptors. (C) System fully assembled.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Practical handling of the PDMS plate for cell culture (A and B) The PDMS plate is handled between two glass plates.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Preparation of the PDMS plate for mechanical stretching (A) individual elements required to assemble one adaptor. (B) partially assembled adaptor. (C and D) sPDMS plate with one adaptor attached to one side. (E) fully fitted PDMS plate attached to the mechanical stretcher via the adaptor. (F) entire system ready to stretch in a CO2 incubator.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Examples of proper/improper attachment or spreading to the PDMS plate scale bar is 100 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Boulter E., Tissot F.S., Dilly J., Pisano S., Féral C.C. Cyclic uniaxial mechanical stretching of cells using a LEGO® parts-based mechanical stretcher system. J. Cell Sci. 2020;133:jcs234666. - PubMed
    1. Kah D., Winterl A., Přechová M., Schöler U., Schneider W., Friedrich O., Gregor M., Fabry B. A low-cost uniaxial cell stretcher for six parallel wells. HardwareX. 2020;9:e00162. - PMC - PubMed

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