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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 29: Posters: Biopolymers \& Biomaterials

BP 29.19: Poster

Donnerstag, 17. März 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3

Investigation of the nanomechanical properties of in vitro assembled Keratin 8/18 networks — •Anke Leitner¹, Tobias Paust¹, Kirsten Dammertz¹, Harald Herrmann², Michael Beil³, and Othmar Marti¹ — ¹Institute of Experimental Physics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany — ²Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany — ³Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

The mechanical properties of epithelial cells are mainly determined by the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton consists of three different protein networks: Microtubules, the transport pathways of the cell, actin filaments, responsible for the cell motility, and intermediate filaments that provide the stiffness and response to mechanical stimuli. In pancreatic cancer cells especially the keratin cytoskeleton plays a major role. In order to find out more about its mechanical properties it is useful to have a look on in vitro assembled keratin filaments. In the work presented here we investigate the mechanical properties of in vitro assembled keratin 8/18 networks in different polymerisation conditions. For this purpose we use microrheology measurements with embedded tracer beads. Observing the beads motion with a CCD-High-Speed-Camera then leads to the dynamic shear moduli. From electron microscopy images we calculated the meshsize and connectivity of the different network structures and link these results to the mechanical properties of the different networks.