Behavior of Cell in Uniform Shear Flow Field between Rotating Cone and Stationary Plate

Abstract

The behavior of a biological cell in a uniform shear flow between the rotating cone and the stationary plate has been observed in vitro. The cone and plate apparatus is mounted on a stage of an inverted phase contrast microscope to observe cells adhered to the plate under the shear flow. Deformation and migration of cells during exposure to the shear flow for 24 hours were traced with the time lapse images. Two kinds of cells were used in the test: C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell line), and HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cell). The experimental results show that HUVEC tends to migrate downstream at the shear stress of 1 Pa. C2C12 tends to tilt vertically in the flow for 18 hours between 1 Pa and 2 Pa. HUVEC tends to be rounded at the shear stress of 2 Pa. The behavior of each isolated cell in the shear flow field has been able to be quantitatively observed by the cone and plate apparatus in vitro.

Keywords

• biomedical engineering
• shear stress
• huvec and couette flow
• c2c12