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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 69: Complex Fluids and Soft Matter (joint session BP/DY/CPP)

DY 69.3: Talk

Friday, March 20, 2015, 10:00–10:15, H 1058

In vivo mechanics measurements using ferrofluid droplets — •Friedhelm Serwane, Alessandro Mongera, Payam Rowghanian, David Kealhofer, and Otger Campàs — Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

The development of living tissues and organs depends on cell behavior strongly influenced by the mechanics of their microenvironment. A prime example is the ability of a tumor to spread which has been linked directly to the elasticity of the surrounding matrix.

This interplay between mechanical inputs and biological responses has remained poorly understood, mainly due to a lack of techniques to measure mechanical properties while characterizing the molecular signals in vivo.

Here we present a technique to measure the mechanics of cellular microenvironment within living tissues and organs. We use ferrofluid oil droplets as mechanical actuators. Once injected in developing zebrafish embryos, we obtain the mechanical properties by tracking the dynamical response of the droplet when actuated by an external magnetic field. In particular, this technique allows us to measure the changes in mechanical properties underlying zebrafish gastrulation.

This technique opens the door to experiments which uniquely relate biological signals to the underlying mechanical properties.