Fifteen-piconewton force detection from neural growth cones using nanowire arrays.
We used epitaxially grown monodisperse nanowire arrays to measure cellular forces with a spatial resolution of 1 mum. Nerve cells were cultured on the array and cellular forces were calculated from the displacement of the nanowire tips. The measurements were done in situ on live cells using confocal microscopy. Forces down to 15 pN were measured on neural growth cones, showing that this method can be used to study the fine details of growth-cone dynamics.
Hällström
Waldemar
W
Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, Sweden.
Lexholm
Monica
M
Suyatin
Dmitry B
DB
Hammarin
Greger
G
Hessman
Dan
D
Samuelson
Lars
L
Montelius
Lars
L
Kanje
Martin
M
Prinz
Christelle N
CN
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051379:Mice; D046228:Microarray Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014159:Transducers