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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Myo-mechanical Analysis of Isolated Skeletal Muscle
Published on: February 23, 2011
Tension generation by isolated myofibrils
Abstract:
The technique for mechanical dissection of microscopic myofibrilar bundles containing few myofibrils is described. A sensitive electrooptical tension transducer capable of resolving the tension generated by such myofibrilar bundles to within a fraction of a percent is used to study the response of the preparations to low ATP concentrations. The rate of tension development decreased with a decrease in ATP concentration. Below 10(-6) M ATP the myofibrils did not demonstrate any mechanical activity at all. These findings are discussed in terms of the kinetics of the cross-bridge cycle.
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