Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 7: Poster Session I

BP 7.20: Poster

Monday, March 9, 2026, 15:00–17:00, P5

Stiffness Characterization of Microtentacles: an optical tweezers study — •Kirill Korneev¹, Thomas John¹, Franziska Lautenschläger^{1, 2}, and Christian Wagner^{1, 2} — ¹Department of Experimental Physics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany — ²Center of Biophysics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany

Laser tweezers (LT) are devices used for manipulating, trapping, and measuring forces on particles within optical traps, and they are commonly used in biophysics. Microtentacles (McTNs) are membrane protrusions supported by bundles of microtubules produced inside cells. These McTNs appear in circulating tumor cells and are thought to play a key role in facilitating the cells adhesion and extravasation process from the blood vessel. Although the biological mechanisms underlying McTN formation have been partially characterized, their characterization by physical material parameters is still lacking. The objective of this work is to study the deformation of McTNs using optical trap force measurements. We will show how McTNs behave under the action of external forces in the piconewton range and suggest a method to extract their Young`s moduli

Keywords: laser tweezers; cancer cell; Microtentacles; deformation; tumor cell