Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Control and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. maryam.pd@utm.my
  • 2 Department of Control and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. atshehu1776@gmail.com
  • 3 Department of Control and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. ridzuan@fke.utm.my
  • 4 Department of Control and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. fancymask01@gmail.com
Sensors (Basel), 2016 Dec 23;17(1).
PMID: 28025571 DOI: 10.3390/s17010014

Abstract

This paper proposes a new technique for real-time single cell stiffness measurement using lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-integrated buckling nanoneedles. The PZT and the buckling part of the nanoneedle have been modelled and validated using the ABAQUS software. The two parts are integrated together to function as a single unit. After calibration, the stiffness, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio and sensitivity of the PZT-integrated buckling nanoneedle have been determined to be 0.7100 N·m-1, 123.4700 GPa, 0.3000 and 0.0693 V·m·N-1, respectively. Three Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells have been modelled and validated based on compression tests. The average global stiffness and Young's modulus of the cells are determined to be 10.8867 ± 0.0094 N·m-1 and 110.7033 ± 0.0081 MPa, respectively. The nanoneedle and the cell have been assembled to measure the local stiffness of the single Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells The local stiffness, Young's modulus and PZT output voltage of the three different size Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been determined at different environmental conditions. We investigated that, at low temperature the stiffness value is low to adapt to the change in the environmental condition. As a result, Saccharomyces cerevisiae becomes vulnerable to viral and bacterial attacks. Therefore, the proposed technique will serve as a quick and accurate process to diagnose diseases at early stage in a cell for effective treatment.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.