Using microresonators to simultaneously monitor mass and adhesion of single living cells

Cells regulate their growth and adhesion via interlinked pathways, and adhesion molecules such as integrins double in their function as growth factor receptors by sensing extracellular information. Despite this prominent link, little is known about the cross-talk of cellular adhesion and growth. Recently, photothermally actuated microresonators were established to monitor the total mass of single adherent living cells in culture conditions over the course of several hours. Here, we present a first approach to expand this technology in order to simultaneously readout the mass and adhesion of living cells, while imaging them via light microscopy.