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Mechanobiology of Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions pp 233–265Cite as

Tools for Studying Biomechanical Interactions in Cells

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Abstract

Cells interact with their environment through forces that are generated and sensed by the cell. Forces generated by cells are in the few nanoNewton to several microNewton range and can change spatially over subcellular size scales. Transducing forces at such size and force scales requires development of platforms that can mechanically interface with cells. We describe several techniques that have been developed to study the role of mechanical forces in cellular processes. The measurement tools include those to measure the forces exerted by the cell on the extracellular environment, internal forces of contraction and the cytoskeletal properties.

This chapter is part of Section IV: Tools for Exploring Mechanobiology

These authors contributed equally.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (EFRI-CBE 073555, CAREER ECS-0449400), the National Institutes of Health (R21 HL089027, R01 EB006745), the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM RC1-00151-1), Stanford Center for Integrated Systems, and Stanford University (Bio-X Graduate Fellowship, Stanford Graduate Fellowship and a Stanford DARE Doctoral Fellowship).

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Beth L. Pruitt

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  1. Rebecca E. Taylor
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  2. Vikram Mukundan
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Correspondence to Beth L. Pruitt .

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  1. , Department of Mechanical & Industrial, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W. Green St., Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    A. Wagoner Johnson

  2. , Department of Chemical & Biomolecular, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Brendan A.C. Harley

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Taylor, R.E., Mukundan, V., Pruitt, B.L. (2011). Tools for Studying Biomechanical Interactions in Cells. In: Wagoner Johnson, A., Harley, B. (eds) Mechanobiology of Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8083-0_11

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