The cell, as the most fundamental unit of life, is a microcosm of biology in which the confluence of nearly all aspects of classical physics (mechanics, statistical physics, condensed matter, and electromagnetism) plays out. This leads to a rich and complex emergent behavior that determines the entire gamut of biological functions. Specifically, at the cellular scale, mechanical forces and deformations are inextricably linked to electrical fields (and, to a lesser degree, magnetic fields). This in turn is responsible for phenomenology such as cell-cell communication, morphological evolution, cell fusion, self-assembly, cell fission, magnetoreception, endocytosis, and adhesion, among others. From the viewpoint of biomedicine, cellular response to the combined influence of electrical, magnetic, and mechanical fields has applications in cancer treatment, targeted transfer of medicine, gene therapy, and wound amelioration. As an example of the profound influence of the combined electrical-mechanical coupling, one needs to take cognizance only of the operation of ion channels that form the basis for our sensing system (such as hearing, sight, and tactile sense). The coupled mechanical and electromagnetic behavior of a cell is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor and this review provides a distillation of both the theoretical underpinnings of the subject and the pertinent biological interpretation. The key developments pertaining to this topic are reviewed, a unified mathematical framework that couples nonlinear deformation and electromagnetic behavior as germane for soft biological entities is summarized, gaps in current knowledge are pointed out, and the central issues that are pertinent to future research are commented upon.

• Received 24 August 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.94.025003