Mechanical properties are becoming fundamental for advancing the comprehension of cellular processes. This study addresses the relationship between viscoelastic properties and the cellular mineralization process. Osteoblast-like cells treated with an osteogenic medium were employed for this purpose. Additionally, the study explores the impact of hydroxyapatite (HA) and hydroxyapatite/silver (HA/Ag) composite on this process. AFM relaxation experiments were conducted to extract viscoelastic parameters using the Fractional Zener (FZ) and Fractional Kelvin (FK) models. Our findings revealed that the main phases of mineralization are associated with alterations in the viscoelastic properties of osteoblast-like cells. Furthermore, HA and HA/Ag treatments significantly influenced changes in the viscoelastic properties of these cells. In particular, the HA/Ag treatment demonstrated a marked enhancement in cell fluidity, suggesting a possible role of silver in accelerating the mineralization process. Moreover, the study underscores the independence observed between fluidity and stiffness, indicating that modifications in one parameter may not necessarily correspond to changes in the other. These findings shed light on the factors involved in the cellular mineralization process and emphasize the importance of using viscoelastic properties to discern the impact of treatments on cells.

中文翻译：

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揭示羟基磷灰石和羟基磷灰石/银复合材料在成骨细胞样细胞矿化中的作用：对其粘弹性特性的探索

机械特性正在成为促进细胞过程理解的基础。这项研究探讨了粘弹性特性与细胞矿化过程之间的关系。为此目的，采用了用成骨培养基处理的成骨细胞样细胞。此外，该研究还探讨了羟基磷灰石 (HA) 和羟基磷灰石/银 (HA/Ag) 复合材料对此过程的影响。使用分数齐纳 (FZ) 和分数开尔文 (FK) 模型进行 AFM 弛豫实验来提取粘弹性参数。我们的研究结果表明，矿化的主要阶段与成骨细胞样细胞粘弹性特性的改变有关。此外，HA 和 HA/Ag 处理显着影响这些细胞的粘弹性特性的变化。特别是，HA/Ag 处理显示细胞流动性显着增强，表明银在加速矿化过程中可能发挥作用。此外，该研究强调了流动性和刚度之间观察到的独立性，表明一个参数的修改可能不一定对应于另一个参数的变化。这些发现揭示了细胞矿化过程中涉及的因素，并强调了利用粘弹性特性来辨别治疗对细胞影响的重要性。