MEMS platform for studying neurogenesis under controlled mechanical tension

A suitable platform has been introduced to exert mechanical tension along radial glial processes between groups of neural stem cells to study the effect of tension on cerebral cortex neurogenesis. Two improvements were implemented in the clamp-and-ratchet microstructure design based on polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Finite Element Analysis shows that these new designs are well within fracture limits under expected tension loading. Stretching the PDMS using the clamp-and-ratchet will produce various precise tensions in these radial extensions, which may modulate neuronal migration, a key process in neurogenesis.