ABSTRACT
Multiple techniques have been developed to determine the material properties of single cells, including atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical tweezers, compressive testing, and magnetic microbead microrheometry (Ethier and Simmons 2007). All of these techniques require precision and delicate sample handling and are very costly to establish in a laboratory setting. In comparison, micropipette aspiration (MA) is advantageous for mechanical characterization of cells because it is simple and relatively inexpensive and can provide force resolutions as low as piconewtons (Ethier and Simmons 2007).
