An integrated micropost-microgroove device for biomechanical characterization of cardiomyocytes

Cells of myocardium exhibit a high anisotropy, action potential conduction velocity, and coordinated contractile behavior in conjunction to extracellular matrix of myocardium. Understanding the mechanisms of native cardiomyocyte contraction requires the development of tool sets that can both recapitulate in vivo microenvironment for faithful model generation and measure cellular traction forces. However, there has been a lack of techniques that integrate biomimetic design and traction force measurement components to study cardiac contraction. Here, we describe a system that uses an array of microposts to sense traction force applied by contracting cells adhered on microgrooves that mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) of cardiac myocardium.