A microfluidic platform for profiling biomechanical properties of bacteria.

The ability to resist mechanical forces is necessary for the survival and division of bacteria and has traditionally been probed using specialized, low-throughput techniques such as atomic force microscopy and optical tweezers. Here we demonstrate a microfluidic technique to profile the stiffness of individual bacteria and populations of bacteria. The approach is similar to micropipette aspiration used to characterize the biomechanical performance of eukaryotic cells.