MECHANOBIOLOGY PLATFORM

MECHANOBIOLOGY PLATFORMS

Health, diagnostic, therapeutic tools

Our mechanobiology platform is dedicated to the study of mechanical interactions within biological systems, from the cell scale to the tissue. Our research focuses on biophysical phenomena such as cell adhesion, migration, growth and morphology, and the interactions with fluid dynamics.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

The probe tip of the AFM (atomic force microscope)

The confocal microscope equipped with the environmental chamber

Acoustic tweezers for the manipulation of micro-objects

▪ Imaging tools (confocal and atomic force microscopy): 3D study of cellular or tissue structures, imaging of moving objects, cell or tissue topology analysis

▪ Tools for the micro-scale characterisation of adhesion orvisco-elastic forces (AFM)

▪ 2D and 3D microprocessing: design of microfluidic circuits, micro-structured substrates

▪ Environmental chambers: preparation of standardized biological material

▪ Microrheology tools and techniques: study of the reological properties of complex fluids (biological fluids with low stability in vitro, vesicles or microorganisms suspensions).

METHODOLOGY

◉◉

◉

Design of a simplified system

and experimentation under controlled conditions

EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS

Study of the forces exerted by a migrating cell on its environment (credit: C Verdier)

Determination of a scaling law for the transversal drift of red blood cells in blood vessels (credit: Podgorski and Coupier)

Dynamics of bacterial biofilm growth in catheters (credit: S Lecuyer)