Achievement

Our trainee and faculty co-advisors have developed a technique to quantify the cell-induced substrate deformation by embedding fluorescent particles in polyacrylamide(PA) substrates and tracking their displacements. Using fluorescence imaging and a frame rate of 10 frames per second, we established sub-10nm precision. Using this technique, it was found that that 3T3-L1 cells apply small scale forces which result in periodic nanoscale deformations of the underlying substrate in the direction parallel to the axis of cell polarization. These studies suggest that symmetry plays a role in how cells feel their surroundings.