engleski

Nanomechanical properties of algal cells during their growth and consequence on the electroporation

Mechanical properties of algal cell govern interactions between cell and interface, thus they are of important for understanding fundamentals of adhesion process. We study single-celled algae Dunaliella tertiolecta that are common in marine waters. Mechanical properties of motile cells are hard to access while keeping cells viable and the studies to date are limited. We adapted a protocol for the cell attachment in order to obtain quantitative nanomechanical mapping of living and motile algal cells. We examine mechanical properties of D. tertiolecta cell during two phases of growth (exponential vs. stationary phase of growth). The AFM measurements demonstrate that cell mechanical properties change during their growth phase which may be attributed due to the alternation of the molecular composition. D. tertiolecta cells are stiffer and more hydrophobic in exponential phase contrary to the stationary phase of growth. The next step will be to determine the influence of mechanical properties of living algal cell on the pulsed electric field (PEF) parameters required to electroporate algae. Preliminary experiments using fluorescence microscopy demonstrate the efficiency of PEF to induce propidium iodide uptake in very soft algal cell.

algal cell ; electroporation ; mehanical properties

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