Single-cell mechanical analysis and tension quantification via electrodeformation relaxation

The mechanical behavior and cortical tension of single cells are analyzed using electrodeformation relaxation. Four types of cells, namely, MCF-10A, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and GBM, are studied, with pulse durations ranging from 0.01 to 10 s. Mechanical response in the long-pulse regime is characterized by a power-law behavior, consistent with soft glassy rheology resulting from unbinding events within the cortex network. In the subsecond short-pulse regime, a single timescale well describes the process and indicates the naive tensioned (prestressed) state of the cortex with minimal force-induced alteration. A mathematical model is employed and the simple ellipsoidal geometry allows for use of an analytical solution to extract the cortical tension. At the shortest pulse of 0.01 s, tensions for all four cell types are on the order of 10-2 N/m.