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Using a Microfluidics Device for Mechanical Stimulation and High Resolution Imaging of C. elegans
Published on: February 19, 2018
Nanoscale optomechanical actuators for controlling mechanotransduction in living cells
Zheng Liu1, Yang Liu1, Yuan Chang1
1Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Abstract:
To control receptor tension optically at the cell surface, we developed an approach involving optomechanical actuator nanoparticles that are controlled with near-infrared light. Illumination leads to particle collapse, delivering piconewton forces to specific cell surface receptors with high spatial and temporal resolution. We demonstrate optomechanical actuation by controlling integrin-based focal adhesion formation, cell protrusion and migration, and T cell receptor activation.
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