Dresden 2009 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 4: Cell Mechanics

BP 4.7: Vortrag

Montag, 23. März 2009, 16:15–16:30, HÜL 186

High-Resolution Measurements of Cellular Contractile Forces — •Florian Schlosser¹, Florian Rehfeldt¹, Daisuke Mizuno², and Christoph Schmidt¹ — ¹3. Physikalisches Institut, Fakultät für Physik, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen — ²Organization for the Promotion of Advanced Research, Kyushu Univ., 812-0054, Fukuoka, Japan

Biological cells constantly communicate with their surroundings. Besides their well-characterized biochemical interactions, cells also use physical interactions. Cells sense external forces, and they actively probe the mechanical properties of their environment with contractile forces generated by their actin/myosin cytoskeleton. Using a dual optical trap, we have performed high-resolution measurements of the forces a cell generates between two fibronectin-coated beads. We have monitored the fluctuations of the beads at high spatial and temporal resolution and have analyzed the correlated motions. This approach allows us to measure simultaneously the total force cells generate between the two beads and the fraction of force transmitted to the environment. We present data of different cells attached to beads trapped with different stiffness, demonstrating that the generated forces depend on the elasticity of their environment.