Measuring the footprint of cells
The sensor is covered with 250,000 tiny plastic columns only five microns in diameter. When a cell creeps across the tips of the columns, it presses each column very slightly sideways. Credit: © Fraunhofer IFAM Even the slightest differences are important in competitive sport: To improve a ski jumper's performance, the trainer can analyze the jump very accurately using force sensors. Researchers in Jena and Bremen are planning something similar. However, their work is not with athletes but with tiny somatic cells. The experts have developed a low-cost optical sensor to measure the force with which migrating cells push themselves away from an underlying surface. Force analysis devices like these could one day help to identify specific cell types – more reliably than using a microscope or other conventional methods.
Read the whole article on Biology News Net
More from Biology News Net
Related
- Bioengineers develop a microfabricated device to measure cellular forces during tissue developmentMon, 22 Jun 2009, 17:07:29 EDT
- Chemists reveal the force within youWed, 9 Nov 2011, 13:36:31 EST
- Magnetic field measurements of the human heart at room temperatureFri, 11 Dec 2009, 11:08:52 EST
- Impact sensor provides athletic supportFri, 14 May 2010, 10:54:35 EDT
- New gas sensors for monitoring carbon dioxide sinksThu, 8 May 2008, 11:22:43 EDT