Evaluation of the correlation between focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation and cell adhesion force using "DEP" technology.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is the phenomenon in which a particle, such as a living cell, is polarized and moved by electrical gravity in a non-uniform electric field. In the present study, the DEP force is utilized to act on the cells to induce spatial movement for investigating the correlation between the cell adhesion force and activation level of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). The DEP force produced by the non-uniform electric field was used to measure the cell adhesion force of ECV304 cells, on type 1 collagen (COL1)- and fibronectin (FN)-coated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes.