Smart Implants

Investigations of forces exerted by living cells on 3D structured surroundings will lead to a better understanding of the biophysics underlying mechanical interactions between living cells and their 3D environment. This is achieved by means of high-resolution imaging of the exerted forces and close examination of the dynamic processes of proteins involved in force generation.

Fraunhofer ATTRACT »3DNanoCell« has established novel measuring methods and offers promising new tools for the investigation of cellular force generation. High-resolution spinning disk confocal miscroscopy enables the precise measurement of exterted forces via ultra-sensitive sensors. Further, the dynamic processes of involved proteins can be analyzed in their 3D surroundings. This addresses a number of issues in medical and biological research, e.g. a better understanding of metastatic processes associated with cancer or axon guidance.