title: High refractive index silicone gels for simultaneous total internal reflection fluorescence and traction force microscopy of adherent cells.
abstract: Substrate rigidity profoundly impacts cellular behaviors such as migration, gene expression, and cell fate. Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy enables selective visualization of the dynamics of substrate adhesions, vesicle trafficking, and biochemical signaling at the cell-substrate interface. Here we apply high-refractive-index silicone gels to perform TIRF microscopy on substrates with a wide range of physiological elastic moduli and simultaneously measure traction forces exerted by cells on the substrate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tkachenko
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Besser
authors.forename: Prithu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sundd
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ley
authors.forename: Gaudenz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Danuser
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groisman
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D012031:Refractometry; D020034:Silicone Gels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020034:Silicone Gels