title: Microfabricated cantilevers for measurement of subcellular and molecular forces.
abstract: We present two new microfabricated cantilever-beam force transducers. The transducers were fabricated from thin silicon-nitride films, and were used respectively to measure forces generated by two small-muscle preparations: the single myofibril, and the single actin filament in contact with a myosin-coated surface. A simple resonance method was developed to characterize the transducers. Because of the high reproducibility of lever dimensions and the consistency of the modulus of elasticity, few calibration measurements sufficed to characterize the stiffness of all the levers on a single wafer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7962, USA. mfauver@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fauver
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dunaway
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lilienfeld
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Craighead
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D003585:Cell Biology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004548:Elasticity; D004867:Equipment Design; D005453:Fluorescence; D008422:Materials Testing; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D009210:Myofibrils; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012825:Silicon; D013499:Surface Properties; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon