Ultra-soft cantilevers and 3-D micro-patterned substrates for contractile bundle tension measurement in living cells
| Autor: | Chiara Gabella, Jean-Jacques Meister, Alexander B. Verkhovsky, Benoît Vianay, Niccolò Piacentini |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Cantilever
Materials science Biomedical Engineering Cell Culture Techniques Bioengineering Nanotechnology Myosins Microfilament Elastomer Biochemistry Protein filament Animals Actin Cells Cultured Tension (physics) General Chemistry Epoxy Fibroblasts Extracellular Matrix Rats Actin Cytoskeleton Bundle visual_art visual_art.visual_art_medium Biophysics Silicone Elastomers |
| Zdroj: | Lab on a chip. 14(14) |
| ISSN: | 1473-0189 |
| Popis: | Actin-myosin microfilament bundles or stress-fibers are the principal tension-generating structures in the cell. Their mechanical properties are critical for cell shape, motion, and interaction with other cells and extracellular matrix, but were so far difficult to access in a living cell. Here we propose a microfabricated two-component setup for direct tension measurement on a peripheral bundle within an intact cell. We used 3-D substrates made of silicon elastomer to elevate the cell making the filament bundle at its border accessible from the side, and employed an ultra-soft (spring constant 0.78 nN mu m(-1)) epoxy-based cantilever for mechanical probing. With this setup we were able for the first time to measure the tension in peripheral actin bundles in living primary fibroblasts spread on a rigid substrate. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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