Much research is conducted on the biomechanical properties of cells, particularly in cancer research. Cell stiffness and cell adhesion are two properties often studied, because they are important for the functioning of a cell. To study these properties, atomic force microscopy(AF
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Much research is conducted on the biomechanical properties of cells, particularly in cancer research. Cell stiffness and cell adhesion are two properties often studied, because they are important for the functioning of a cell. To study these properties, atomic force microscopy(AFM) is often used, using nanoindentation for stiffness analysis and fluid force microscopy(FluidFM) for adhesion analysis. However, these techniques often involve different cantilever probes, which complicates the measurement of both properties in a single cell. To make it possible to study cell stiffness and cell adhesion of a single cell, a multifunctional microfluidic AFM cantilever is developed in this research. This cantilever is equipped with a blunted pyramid-shaped tip for nanoindentation enabling the measurement of cell stiffness and imaging. Moreover, it features a channel running through its length, with an aperture on the tip, facilitating fluid force microscopy for determining cell adhesion. The multifunctional cantilever is fabricated using a multiscale 3d-printing technique, where stereo lithography is used for the larger parts, and two-photon polymerisation is used for the cantilever. To demonstrate the capabilities of the cantilever, tests are conducted on various substrates. Nanoindentation is demonstrated on PDMS, hydrogel and endothelial cells to determine the Young’s modulus of these materials. Fluid force microscopy is showcased by examining prostate cancer cells (PCA-3), removing the cells from the substrate while measuring the adhesion forces. The imaging capabilities of the cantilever were also demonstrated by generating a height map and a Young’s modulus map through quantitative imaging of a hydrogel spheroid. This research shows that combining the properties of nanoindentation and FluidFM cantilevers into a single cantilever is possible. Integrating these functionalities into a single cantilever makes doing more mechanical measurements on a single cell possible.