Effect of different trypsin concentrations on SMCC-7721 cell adhesion

In this work, living human liver cancer cells (SMCC-7721) were exposed to the trypsin solution at the concentrations of 1.5 mg/ml, 2.0 mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml, 3.0 mg/ml, 3.5 mg/ml and 4.0 mg/ml, respectively. After 2 min of dosing time, the physical and mechanical properties of the cells were detected by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). With the increase of the trypsin concentration, the adhesion force between the cell and the probe gently decreased. The maximum lateral deflection voltage variation of the probe, which reflected the maximum external force that kept the cells attached to the substrate, was significantly reduced. This work indicates that we may change the cell morphology and regulate the mechanical properties of cells by controlling the concentration of trypsin solution to treat cells, which has important implications for bioengineering and cell manipulation.