Dancing with the Cells: Acoustic Microflows Generated by Oscillating Cells

Abstract The interaction of a sound or ultrasound wave with an elastic object, such as a microbubble, can give rise to a steady‐state microstreaming flow in its surrounding liquid. Many microfluidic strategies for cell and particle manipulation, and analyte mixing, are based on this type of flow. In addition, there are reports that acoustic streaming can be generated in biological systems, for instance, in a mammalian inner ear. Here, new observations are reported that individual cells are able to induce microstreaming flow, when they are excited by controlled acoustic waves in vitro. Single adherent cells are exposed to an acoustic field inside a microfluidic device. The cell‐induced microstreaming is then investigated by monitoring flow tracers around the cell, while the structure and extracellular environment of the cell are altered using different chemicals. The observations suggest that the maximum streaming flow induced by an MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cell can reach velocities on the order of mm s⁻¹, and this maximum velocity is primarily governed by the overall cell stiffness. Therefore, such cell‐induced microstreaming measurements, including flow pattern and velocity magnitude, may be used as label‐free proxies of cellular mechanical properties, such as stiffness.