How can scientists measure viscosity inside a living cell, whose entire volume is just a few picolitres? Using computer simulations, researchers evaluated magnetic rotational spectroscopy, a technique that spins microscopic magnetic wires to probe the cytoplasm. The study shows that the motion generated by the wire is extremely localized, affecting less than one percent of the cell, so the measurement does not harm the cell. The results also confirm that, under standard conditions, magnetic rotational spectroscopy accurately captures the cytoplasmic viscosity. These findings validate magnetic rotational spectroscopy as a precise and minimally invasive technique for quantifying the mechanical properties of living cells.

Read the article in Interface.

Abstract. Recent studies have highlighted intracellular viscosity as a key biomechanical property with potential as a biomarker for cancer cell metastasis.