micropipette aspiration
A spherical neutrophil 16µm in diameter is resting as shown in the attached photo. The pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cell is 7.5Pa.
a) Draw free body diagrams of the whole cell and one hemisphere of the cell.
b) Calculate cortical tension in the cell.
In a micropipette aspiration experiment, a suction pressure of 52.5 Pa was used to aspirate the neutrophil membrane.
c) Draw free body diagrams of the whole cell under micropipette aspiration and the portion of the cell in the micropipette. What is the diameter of the micropipette tip used to make this hemispherical projection?
Next, the micropipette aspiration was stopped, and the cell was treated with Cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, causing the cortical tension to decrease by half.
d) Assuming the pressures inside and outside the cell have not changed, what is the new cell radius?
e) If the same micropipette was used to aspirate the cell, what would be the new suction pressure?
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