Mechanical characterization of benign and malignant urothelial cells from voided urine

This study investigates whether mechanical differences exist between benign and malignant urothelial cells in voided urine. The Young's modulus of individual cells was measured using the micropipette aspiration technique. Malignant urothelial cells showed significantly lower Young's modulus values compared to benign urothelial cells. The results indicate that Young's modulus as a biomechanical marker could possibly provide additional information to conventional urinary cytology. We hope that these preliminary results could evoke attention to mechanical characterization of urine cells and spark interest in the development of biomechanical approaches to enhance non-invasive urothelial carcinoma detection. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4798495]