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Actin mechanics probed with magnetic colloids
The actin polymer is central in cell biology : the cortex layer it forms as part of the cytoskeleton gives a cell its viscoelastic properties ; its polymerization in the lamellipodium is the basis of cell movement. Actin forms a gel of semi-flexible polymers which is
regulated, crosslinked, or branched by a number of interacting proteins. Using dipole-dipole attraction between superparamagnetic colloids, we can measure force deformation response of dense actin gels similar to the ones found in lamellipodium. Compared to other
techniques, our experimental setup allows for massively parallel measurements. We can thus investigate the relationship between different biologically relevant architectures of actin networks and
their elastic properties.
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