Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Characterizing single suspended cells by optorheology.

Falk Wottawah1, Stefan Schinkinger, Bryan Lincoln

  • 1Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Department of Physics and Geosciences, University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Acta Biomaterialia
|May 17, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Researchers used an optical stretcher to measure cell mechanics, revealing distinct viscoelastic properties between normal and cancerous fibroblasts. This technique can differentiate cell types and aid disease diagnosis.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

<i>MYH9</i> Variant p.(Arg424Gly) Alters Nonmuscle Myosin IIA Contraction, Causing Atypical <i>MYH9</i>-related Disease.

Kidney international reports·2026
Same author

Spatiotemporal mapping of microscale stiffness during collagen polymerization and crosslinking by optical multifrequency time-harmonic elastography.

Soft matter·2026
Same author

Cell viscosity influences haematogenous dissemination and metastatic extravasation of tumour cells.

Nature materials·2026
Same author

Exploring compartmentalized jet polymerization for novel rod-shaped microgels and their potential in tissue engineering applications.

Biomaterials·2025
Same author

Adipose-mimetic granular hydrogels uncover biophysical cues driving breast cancer invasion.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Optical Measurement of the Mass Density of Biological Samples.

ACS photonics·2025

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Mechanical Engineering

Background:

  • Measuring individual cell mechanical properties is crucial for understanding cellular functions.
  • Cytoskeletal dynamics significantly influence cell mechanics and behavior.
  • Distinguishing between normal and cancerous cells based on mechanical properties is an active research area.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To apply an optical stretcher for step-stress experiments on individual fibroblasts.
  • To characterize the viscoelastic properties of normal and cancerous fibroblasts.
  • To explore the potential of this method for disease diagnosis.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an optical stretcher to apply optically induced forces and perform step-stress experiments on suspended fibroblasts.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Converted creep-compliance data to frequency-dependent complex shear modulus.
  • Analyzed stress relaxation times, shear modulus, and steady-state viscosity of the actin cortex.

    • Main Results:

    • Identified characteristic viscoelastic signatures in fibroblasts related to cytoskeleton and molecular properties.
    • Observed a single stress relaxation time in both normal and cancerous fibroblasts, linked to actin crosslinking proteins.
    • Extracted shear modulus and viscosity of the actin cortex, explaining differences in cell deformability.

    Conclusions:

    • The optical stretcher method effectively differentiates normal from cancerous fibroblasts based on mechanical properties.
    • This technique offers high throughput and potential for diagnosing diseases related to cytoskeletal alterations.
    • Microfluidic integration of the optical stretcher facilitates investigation of cellular processes and disease diagnostics.