New device developed that can weigh a single cell

Scientists have developed a tiny cantilever that can weigh individual cells, which has enabled them to detect that a cell stops growing after catching a virus. Researchers from the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) at UCL say the project shows how international collaborations between biologists and technology experts can drive new discoveries in biology. They collaborated with the researchers from the MRC LMCB, who contributed biological expertise on how viruses interact with cells. Existing technologies can weigh cells that are floating in liquid, but this does not mimic the normal state of cells in the body. Most cells in the human body are joined - adhered - to their surroundings. The new device precisely measures the mass of a single cell adhered to a cantilever and if that mass changes over small periods of time. The mass of the cell affects how the cantilever resonates and this resonance is measured by lasers.