Berlin 2018 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Cell Mechanics I

BP 17.7: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 14. März 2018, 11:45–12:00, H 1058

Force Spectroscopy for the Investigation of Cellular Mechanotransduction — •Sandra Sindt, Steven Huth, and Christine Selhuber-Unkel — Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Biokompatible Nanomaterialien

Cells permanently explore the mechanical properties of their surroundings by applying forces. Even though some knowledge about mechanical interactions of cells have been obtained, the mechanisms are not completely understood yet. Here, we present a method based on a combination of Traction Force (TFM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to gain deeper understanding of cellular mechanotransduction. During the detachment of a cell with a cantilever from a substrate with embedded fluorescent marker beads, the beads within the substrate are displaced. If the elastic properties of the substrate are known, the traction forces of the cell can be calculated from the displacements of the beads. In order to calculate traction forces, a precise and reliable mechanical characterization of substrates is important. The AFM is a well-established technique to measure the stiffness at the cellular scale, yet values of Young's moduli published by different authors vary significantly. Here, we present an improvement of the previously used method for measuring the stiffness of biological substrates based on indentation experiments using AFM. In this procedure, cantilevers are pressed against biocompatible soft polymer substrates using different forces and speeds. Both cantilever movements, towards and away from the substrate, are recorded and plotted as a force-distance curve. The Young's moduli are acquired from a Hertzian fit of the approach curve.