Characterization of Nonlinear Mechanical Properties of Cells and Tissues

The mechanical properties of the microenvironment around living cells affect the behavior and pathological changes of cells and tissues. The quantification of the properties of viscoelasticity and nonlinear elasticity in normal and diseased tissues is of great importance. Our research group mainly built an indentation rheological test platform for atomic force microscopy (AFM), using this rheological platform to measure the viscoelasticity of nueron cell cytoskeleton and axons, and quantify the correlation between viscoelasticity and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, our research group used AFM probes to test the nerve injury in the axon provocation and shearing experiments of nerve cells, and combined with the mechanical model to analyze the response of nerve axons after injury. We aim to quantify the dissipative mechanical properties of cells and explore its correlation with brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, which also provides new ideas for future related clinical treatment.

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