Meeting Abstract

49.5  Thursday, Jan. 6  Synthetic Cellular Biomechanics RUDER, W.C.; Boston University, Harvard Wyss Institute, and HHMI wruder@bu.edu

Cellular engineering has experienced a broad expansion and now includes the fields of artificial cell engineering and synthetic biology, which are focused on engineering complexity at the cellular scale, either by assembling nanomaterials from the ground up, for completely artificial cells, or developing elegant genetic circuits in single cells, respectively. One important objective is engineering biomechanical functions into synthetic cells and cellular constructs using techniques from these two fields. In order to examine cellular responses to mechanics at these scales, I have utilized devices commonly used to explore biomechanics in single cells including magnetic tweezers/needles and stretchable substrates, as well as developed a new device, a quasi-3D (Q3D) fiber matrix allowing for the examination of stretch-activated calcium signaling. Experiments with the Q3D system have revealed a distinct threshold response in single cell calcium signaling following application of displacement, when compared to traditional mechanical stimulation techniques. Further applications could include using these techniques to explore biomechanics in natural and synthetic single cell communities as well as approaches for designing these communities using artificial and synthetic biology.