A multi-station culture force monitor system to study cellular contractility

Cellular contraction contributes to the formation of scar tissue, which is characterized by an over-produced, disorganized collagen matrix. To study the contractility of cells in vitro and its potential contribution to scar tissue formation, we have developed a multi-station culture force monitor (CFM) system. This system consists of four vertical cantilever beams with semiconductor strain gages and a computerized data acquisition unit to monitor contractile forces of the cells in a collagen gel. Calibration showed that this system has a highly linear voltage–force relationship (R2>0.99). Further, to demonstrate the applicability of this system, contractile forces of human skin fibroblasts in a collagen gel were measured. These fibroblasts were found to produce an average force of 0.2 nN/cell, which is consistent with the data in literature. The significant advantage of this CFM system is its ability to test multiple samples simultaneously. Therefore, the system can facilitate statistical design and analysis of experiments to study the effects of growth factors (e.g., TGF-βs) on cellular contraction and their potential role in scar tissue formation.