This talk will describe the development of novel force-sensing surfaces (both colloidal and planar surfaces) to image integrin tension in living cells. The goal of this work is to better under chemo-mechanical couplings at the cell surface by developing new methods to visualize force transmission in real time. All force gauges require two parts: a spring with a known force constant, and an accurate ruler. Likewise, our sensor surfaces takes advantage of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorophores as a molecular 'ruler' and flexible polymer chain as a reversible entropic spring with a known spring constant. The sensor allows one to quantify molecular forces with high spatial and temporal resolution for a wide range of membrane receptors and cell types. I will demonstrate the first molecular tension maps of integrin tension (which range from ~1-10 pN) during the process of focal adhesion formation.

New materials to investigate aberrent mechanics in living cells

245th National Meeting (2013)

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