Setup description
We have developed a Traction Force Microscope (TFM) whose goal is to measure the field of forces applied on the surface of a soft material. We use a hydrogel seeded with colloidal particles, whose displacement is tracked by a holographic technique (see the Magnetic Tweezers setup for details ). The resolution on the particles displacement is a few nm, allowing a precise determination of the volumic displacement field in the gel and thus of the comutation of the force field applied at its surface. This setup is used to measure the forces exerted by cells grown at the surface of the gel.
Further Reading
S. Makarchuk, N. Beyer, C. Gaiddon, W. Grange, and P. Hébraud.
Holographic Traction Force Microscopy.
Scientific Reports, 8, 3038, 2018