Biomechanichal effects of ultrasound exposure at the intra- and extracellular level

The main goal of the present proposal is to investigate biomechanichal effects at the sub-cellular length scale caused by ultrasonic exposure to miniaturized in vitro cell cultures, including 3D cultures and tissue engineering systems.

This will be realized by the use of a novel acoustofluidic platform where various physical parameters, dependent on the ultrasound and having potential to alter the cellular state or function, are decoupled and measured separately at the low-µm- and sub-µm scale. Such parameters include temperature, pressure, vibration, cavitation, fluid flow and acoustic radiation forces.

We will investigate and compare various cell culture systems exposed to ultrasound, including 2D vs. 3D cultures; adherent vs. suspension cell cultures; spheroid, organoid and solid tumor model cultures.

The characerization will be performed by fluorescence and holographic microscopy in 3D, flow cytometry and RNA sequencing, which allow for studying intra- and extracellular structures, states and functions including organell structure, protein expression and transcriptome changes.

The predicted outcome of our planned research is to establish detailed safety guidelines and threshold levels of ultrasonic actuation parameters, as well as investigating possible favorable effects of ultrasonic actuation, important for biological and biomedical applications within life sciences using methods based on microscale acoustofluidics.