{"paper_id":"08a94786-cbf4-4e18-b281-bfa7910c5c22","body_text":"Single cell biomechanical properties analyzed by atomic force microscopy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Single cell biomechanical properties analyzed by atomic force microscopy Lili Wang, Wangli Deng, Chen Zhang, Ran Liu, Weiyi Chen, Xiaochun Liu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7720539/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cell mechanics is essential for understanding the mechanical performance and physiological functions of cells, as well as for the early detection of diseases and advancements in biomedical engineering. In this study, we utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure and compare the cellular elasticity (elastic modulus) and viscoelastic properties of normal cells—human normal cervical epithelial cells (HTX26136) and human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-12A)—with those of cancer cells (cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7)). We varied the probe geometry, spherical tip radius, and loading rate to assess their impact on these properties. AFM force-indentation curves were fitted using the Hertz and Sneddon models to extract elastic properties. However, these models alone were insufficient to fully describe cellular mechanics; thus, the stress relaxation curve was employed to characterize viscoelastic behavior.Our results indicate that the elastic and viscoelastic properties of cancer cells are lower than those of normal cells. Notably, the elastic modulus measured with a cone probe was significantly higher than that obtained with a spherical probe, and elastic properties decreased with increasing probe diameter. Additionally, the loading rate had a significant effect on the measured mechanical properties, with an increase in loading rate corresponding to an increase in cell mechanical properties.This study enhances our understanding of the mechanical behavior of single cells and offers new insights into distinguishing different cell types under varying loading conditions based on AFM-derived elastic and viscoelastic properties. Biological sciences/Biophysics Biological sciences/Cancer Biological sciences/Cell biology Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science atomic force microscopy cellular mechanics viscoelasticity elastic modulus Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-7720539\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":533788254,\"identity\":\"23936338-87d3-43b7-987b-eb0997885e28\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Lili 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microscopy\",\"fulltext\":[],\"fulltextSource\":\"\",\"fullText\":\"\",\"funders\":[],\"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow\":false,\"hasManuscriptDocX\":false,\"hasOptedInToPreprint\":true,\"hasPassedJournalQc\":\"\",\"hasAnyPriority\":false,\"hideJournal\":true,\"highlight\":\"\",\"institution\":\"\",\"isAcceptedByJournal\":false,\"isAuthorSuppliedPdf\":true,\"isDeskRejected\":\"\",\"isHiddenFromSearch\":false,\"isInQc\":false,\"isInWorkflow\":false,\"isPdf\":true,\"isPdfUpToDate\":true,\"isWithdrawnOrRetracted\":false,\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"researchsquare\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"externalIdentity\":\"\",\"sideBox\":\"\",\"snPcode\":\"\",\"submissionUrl\":\"/submission\",\"title\":\"Research Square\",\"twitterHandle\":\"researchsquare\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":false,\"editorialSystem\":\"\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"\",\"inReviewEnabled\":false,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":true},\"keywords\":\"atomic force microscopy, cellular mechanics, viscoelasticity, elastic modulus\",\"lastPublishedDoi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7720539/v1\",\"lastPublishedDoiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7720539/v1\",\"license\":{\"name\":\"CC BY 4.0\",\"url\":\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\"},\"manuscriptAbstract\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eCell mechanics is essential for understanding the mechanical performance and physiological functions of cells, as well as for the early detection of diseases and advancements in biomedical engineering. In this study, we utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure and compare the cellular elasticity (elastic modulus) and viscoelastic properties of normal cells\\u0026mdash;human normal cervical epithelial cells (HTX26136) and human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-12A)\\u0026mdash;with those of cancer cells (cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7)). We varied the probe geometry, spherical tip radius, and loading rate to assess their impact on these properties. AFM force-indentation curves were fitted using the Hertz and Sneddon models to extract elastic properties. However, these models alone were insufficient to fully describe cellular mechanics; thus, the stress relaxation curve was employed to characterize viscoelastic behavior.Our results indicate that the elastic and viscoelastic properties of cancer cells are lower than those of normal cells. Notably, the elastic modulus measured with a cone probe was significantly higher than that obtained with a spherical probe, and elastic properties decreased with increasing probe diameter. Additionally, the loading rate had a significant effect on the measured mechanical properties, with an increase in loading rate corresponding to an increase in cell mechanical properties.This study enhances our understanding of the mechanical behavior of single cells and offers new insights into distinguishing different cell types under varying loading conditions based on AFM-derived elastic and viscoelastic properties.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"manuscriptTitle\":\"Single cell biomechanical properties analyzed by atomic force microscopy\",\"msid\":\"\",\"msnumber\":\"\",\"nonDraftVersions\":[{\"code\":1,\"date\":\"2025-10-27 13:43:59\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7720539/v1\",\"editorialEvents\":[{\"type\":\"communityComments\",\"content\":0}],\"status\":\"published\",\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"researchsquare\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"externalIdentity\":\"\",\"sideBox\":\"\",\"snPcode\":\"\",\"submissionUrl\":\"/submission\",\"title\":\"Research Square\",\"twitterHandle\":\"researchsquare\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":false,\"editorialSystem\":\"\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"\",\"inReviewEnabled\":false,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":true}}],\"origin\":\"\",\"ownerIdentity\":\"c06f6d73-c68e-4f66-aee5-4515afe6dea6\",\"owner\":[],\"postedDate\":\"October 27th, 2025\",\"published\":true,\"recentEditorialEvents\":[],\"rejectedJournal\":[],\"revision\":\"\",\"amendment\":\"\",\"status\":\"posted\",\"subjectAreas\":[{\"id\":56750140,\"name\":\"Biological sciences/Biophysics\"},{\"id\":56750141,\"name\":\"Biological sciences/Cancer\"},{\"id\":56750142,\"name\":\"Biological sciences/Cell biology\"},{\"id\":56750143,\"name\":\"Physical sciences/Engineering\"},{\"id\":56750144,\"name\":\"Physical sciences/Materials science\"}],\"tags\":[],\"updatedAt\":\"2026-02-12T09:27:48+00:00\",\"versionOfRecord\":[],\"versionCreatedAt\":\"2025-10-27 13:43:59\",\"video\":\"\",\"vorDoi\":\"\",\"vorDoiUrl\":\"\",\"workflowStages\":[]},\"version\":\"v1\",\"identity\":\"rs-7720539\",\"journalConfig\":\"researchsquare\"},\"__N_SSP\":true},\"page\":\"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]\",\"query\":{\"redirect\":\"/article/rs-7720539\",\"identity\":\"rs-7720539\",\"version\":[\"v1\"]},\"buildId\":\"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd\",\"isFallback\":false,\"isExperimentalCompile\":false,\"dynamicIds\":[84888],\"gssp\":true,\"scriptLoader\":[]}","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}