Dynamic Manipulation and Patterning of Breast Cancer Cells Using Vibrating Micromechanical Membranes in Biofluids

Overview

About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. develops breast cancer during their lifetime. Breast cancer patients’ survival rates lower due to cancer metastasis during which cells detach from the primary tumor and invade distal, healthy organs. Cancer metastasis research may be improved through manipulation of cancer cells at microscale to study their properties and behaviors. The objective of this research is to develop new device technology to quickly, accurately, and non-invasively manipulate cancer cells in biosolution. The device platform was based on silicon nitride (Si3N4) membrane micromechanical resonators, which were fabricated using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) backside etch on Si3N4-on-Si wafers. The resulting membrane resonators were mounted onto piezoelectric shakers which oscillated vertically to excite the devices’ transverse mechanical motions. According to the ‘Chladni figure’ phenomenon, metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells immersed in biosolution are manipulated into self-organized patterns on the membrane surfaces. As the frequencies match the devices’ resonance modes, these precise, defined patterns are formed sequentially within mere seconds. The multimode micromembrane resonators provide a unique platform for fast, non-invasive manipulation of metastatic breast cancer cells which can lead to future studies on probing cancer cell interactions and their connections with cancer metastasis.

Competition history

• AJAS 2018 Category not listed

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