Development of a chamber to investigate high-intensity compression waves upon live cell cultures

¹ Institute of Shock Physics, Department of Physics, and Imperial Blast Biomechanics and Biophysics Group, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
² Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A4800, Austin, TX 78712, USA
³ Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
⁴ Imperial Blast Biomechanics & Biophysics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK

^a e-mail: w.proud@imperial.ac.uk

Received: 8 February 2011
Accepted: 13 May 2011
Published online: 18 August 2011

Abstract

Understanding how high-intensity compression waves damage human tissue is critical to developing improved therapeutic interventions for treating traumatic injuries arising from explosive devices. Assessment of the cellular and molecular basis of damage that is physiologically relevant requires the study of biomaterials using appropriate techniques which subject samples to compression waves at magnitudes relevant to traumatic injury. Here, we present the design and initial calibration of a polycarbonate chamber to be used in a split Hopkinson pressure bar system to study live cell cultures.