Sacrificial layer technique for axial force post assay of immature cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT: Immature primary and stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes provide useful models for fundamental studies of heart development and cardiac disease, and offer potential for patient specific drug testing and differentiation protocols aimed at cardiac grafts. To assess their potential for augmenting heart function, and to gain insight into cardiac growth and disease, tissue engineers must quantify the contractile forces of these single cells. Currently, axial contractile forces of isolated adult heart cells can only be measured by two-point methods such as carbon fiber techniques, which cannot be applied to neonatal and stem cell-derived heart cells because they are more difficult to handle and lack a persistent shape. Here we present a novel axial technique for measuring the contractile forces of

SUBMITTER: Taylor RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3545035 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature