ICMM
INSTRUMENTATION FOR MECHANOBIOLOY
The activity is focused on the development of high-spatial resolution, high-speed and sensitive atomic force microscopes to characterize the in situ changes of the mechanical properties of cells and tissues as a function of the chemical and physical environment. Those microscopes should provide a plethora of mechanical properties (elastic, retardation, relaxation times and viscoelastic parameters) of proteins, cells and tissues to track time-resolved processes and interactions. This might also lead to label free methods complementary to fluorescence optical methods to imaging subsurface processes in cells.
We also investigate mechanical markers (elastic and loss moduli) to characterize different diseases from cancer to spinal cord injuries and cardiovascular diseases. The final goal of this activity is to develop of a high-throughput mechanical microscope for applications in clinical research.
