Comparison of Three Material Models to Predict the Time-Dependent Deformation of a Single Cell Under Micropipette Aspiration

Micropipette aspiration is an experimental technique that is used widely to measure the mechanical properties of single cells [1]. The viscoelastic properties of the probed cell are often estimated by fitting experimental data to a three-parameter standard linear solid (SLS) half-space model (e.g., [1]). However, this analytical model does not account for the large strains that can occur with micropipette aspiration. This limitation has motivated the development of numerical methods to interpret the experimental data. For example, Zhou [2] implemented a material model combining a hyperelastic neo-Hookean material and a viscoelastic SLS material in an axisymmetric finite element (FE) model to simulate large strain micropipette aspiration of a suspended cell. The time-dependent creep deformation of cells has also been described by power-law rheology [3]; this material model has been applied to micropipette aspiration of nuclei [4], but not whole cells.