Lab 3 : Fast fluorescence microrheology for quantitative studies of cytoskeletal mechanotransduction

The fluorescence laser tracking microrheometer (FLTM) is a novel instrument that proposes to assess the local, frequency-dependent mechanical properties of living cells with nanometer spatial sensitivity over a frequency range extending from 1 Hz to 50 kHz (1). This tutorial will familiarize researchers with the FLTM’s theoretical principles and experimental routines, and will illustrate how chemically-induced cytoskeletal disruption is accompanied by reduced cellular stiffness and viscosity (as parameterized by G*(ω), the frequencydependent complex shear modulus).