Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 10: Postersession II

BP 10.5: Poster

Monday, March 12, 2018, 17:30–19:30, Poster C

Stretching Adherent Cells with Light — •Tobias Neckernuss, Daniel Geiger, Jonas Pfeil, Irina Schrezenmeier, and Othmar Marti — Institute of Experimental Physics, Ulm University

The mechanical properties of cells are important parameters in natural science and medicine. Over the years various techniques have been developed to assess parameters like stiffness, creep and relaxation constants of all kinds of cells. Often the investigation relies on the interaction of the cells with a probe like in AFM or micropipette aspiration. However, these techniques always measure properties of the joint system cell and probe.
In 2001 Guck et al. demonstrated a new method to trap and stretch cells in a microfluidic channel with laser light. To the best of our knowledge this technique has only been applied to suspended cells so far. We will present a novel setup to stretch and measure adherent cells - that is the majority of cells in the human body - with a laser. This represents the first non contact opportunity to deform cells perpendicular to the substrate. A demonstration of the capability of the technique to determine overall cellular stiffness is given. Furthermore, we show a selection of models for the viscoelastic response as well as a glimpse of further applications.