A micromechanical technique for monitoring cell-substrate adhesiveness: measurements of the strength of red blood cell adhesion to glass and polymer test surfaces.

We report a novel method for rapid comparison of the relative strength of adhesion of cells to different solid surfaces. A vertically oscillating micropipette is brought above an individual cell in such a manner that it makes contact with the cell at the lower limit of its travel. The pressure within the micropipette is gradually reduced until the cell attaches to the micropipette by suction and is lifted from the solid surface. The reduction in pressure required to detach a cell depends on the specific cell/substrate combination and serves as a relative measure of the strength of cell adhesion. A particular advantage of this approach over conventional methods is the ability to select particular cells from a population. As a test of the reproducibility of the method and its ability to distinguish the strength of adhesion of cells to different solid surfaces, we have used it to measure the adhesiveness of human red blood cells to hydrophilic glass, tissue culture grade polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polymethyl methacrylate. We find that results for the same surface are highly reproducible and that the method is capable of distinguishing small differences in the adhesiveness of red blood cells to the above surfaces.