Modeling AFM Induced Mechanical Deformation of Living Cells
Finite element modeling has been applied to study deformation of living cells in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and particularly Recognition Force Microscopy (RFM). The abstract mechanical problem of interest is the response to RFM point loads of an incompressible medium enclosed in a fluid membrane. Cells are soft systems, susceptible to large deformations in the course of an RFM measurement. Often the local properties such as receptor anchoring forces, the reason for the measurement, are obscured by the response of the cell as a whole. Modeling can deconvolute these effects. This facilitates experimental efforts to have reproducible measurements of mechanical and chemical properties at specific kinds of receptor sites on the membrane of a living cell. In this article we briefly review the RFM technique for cells and the problems it poses, and then report on recent progress in modeling the deformation of cells by a point load.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15002269
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-151068; TRN: US200410%%58
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International Conference on Computational Nanoscience 2003, San Francisco, CA (US), 02/23/2003--02/27/2003; Other Information: PBD: 15 Nov 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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