Cell force measurements

Unrivalled performances 

• Compatible with soft substrates and hydrogels
• Easily tunable cell’s shape and size
• Easier traction force microscopy measurements

Compatible with soft substrates and hydrogels

With PRIMO, it is possible to pattern on any substrate’s stiffness, whether it is stiff or soft. It is also easy to combine micropatterning and hydrogel structuration to study cell forces.

In the example below, micropatterning was performed on soft and deformable substrates to study cardiomyocyte contractility.  They observed that non micropatterned cells contract poorly and in an asynchronous manner whereas micropatterned cells show higher and more synchronized contractility.

Easily tunable cell’s shape and size

Our technology provides printing of micropatterns of any shapes on the desired substrate.

In this study, the PRIMO device is used to accurately quantify cell contractile work based on the deformations of micropatterns of cell adhesion proteins of diverse cell shapes

Easier traction force microscopy measurements

With PRIMO, it is possible to simplify measurements of cellular traction forces since it permits optical measurements of cell-mediated displacements to be converted into stresses and forces.

Down below, they performed cell force measurements in airway smooth muscle cells. They studied how extracellular matrix stiffness regulates force transmission pathways in multicellular ensembles of human airway smooth muscle cells.

S. R. Polio et al., Scientific Reports, 2019