Preliminary measurements of elasticity properties of lung tumor living cells for cancer detection

Recent studies recognized the cell stiffness changes as a marker for cancer detection. Reliable and reproducible measurements of elastic modulus, mapping different cell regions are the basis for developing a new methodology for cancer detection. To this aim, a metrological characterized AFM microscope has been developed, micro- and nano-indentation of soft materials, used as elastic modulus reference, were done and a robust statistical data analysis has been performed. Contact images and force mapping of A549 living cells allowed 4% measurement relative reproducibility. A modal cell elastic modulus 0.5 kPa, was obtained. A highly spatially resolved stiffness distribution on the overall cell regions has been obtained through data analysis, realizing a powerful tool for cell mechanics analysis.