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Membrane Stiffness of Animal Cells Challenged by Osmotic Stress
Author(s) -
Steltenkamp Siegfried,
Rommel Christina,
Wegener Joachim,
Janshoff Andreas
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.200600018
Subject(s) - stiffness , osmotic concentration , osmotic shock , materials science , conical surface , atomic force microscopy , stress (linguistics) , osmotic pressure , biophysics , modulus , membrane , cell , cell membrane , osmosis , composite material , nanotechnology , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , linguistics , philosophy , gene
An atomic force microscope equipped with either a spherical indenter (see SEM image) or a conical tip has been utilized to analyze the nanomechanical behavior of living kidney cells under osmotic stress. The Young's modulus of the cells increases with osmolarity of the medium due to immense compaction of the cell. The change of stiffness is highly reversible and depends strongly on the location on the cell surface.