In Situ Mechanical Interferometry of Matrigel Films
Open accessAbstract
Many biological materials and cell substrates are very soft (Young's modulus <500 Pa) and it is difficult to characterize their mechanical properties. Here we report local elasticity of the surface layers of Matrigel films used for cell culture. We used a new measurement technology, mechanical imaging interferometry, to obtain point mechanical measurements over micron-sized areas. The median values of 650 +/- 400 Pa (# measurements, n = 50), determined by the Hertz contact model, agree well with bulk measurements; however, on the microscale, the films were heterogeneous and contained regions distinctly stiffer than average (1-2 kPa). The first measurement of yield strengths of 170 +/- 100 Pa (n = 43) indicates that Matrigel films deform plastically at stress levels of similar scale to cell tractional forces.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The mechanical properties of Matrigel samples are heterogeneous; local regions exhibit elastic moduli several times higher than the average modulus of the sample.
“Furthermore, the mechanical properties of Matrigel samples are heterogeneous; local regions of such gels have been found to exhibit elastic moduli several times higher than the average modulus of the sample60,61.”
From Towards organoid culture without Matrigel (2021) · cites this paper as [61]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Surface energy and the contact of elastic solids
Johnson, K. L., Kendall, K., & Roberts, A. D. (1971) · Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A Mathematical and Physical Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspa.1971.0141 · Cited by 8,109 · see citing works
Determination of Elastic Moduli of Thin Layers of Soft Material Using the Atomic Force Microscope
Dimitriadis, E. K., Horkay, F., Maresca, J. A., Kachar, B., & Chadwick, R. S. (2002) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/s0006-3495(02)75620-8 · Cited by 1,233 · see citing works
The role of matrix stiffness in regulating cell behavior†
Wells, R. G. (2008) · Hepatology · doi:10.1002/hep.22193 · Cited by 1,055 · see citing works
Mechanical models for living cells—a review
Lim, C. T., Zhou, E. H., & Quek, S. T. (2005) · Journal of Biomechanics · doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2004.12.008 · Cited by 722 · see citing works
Ahearne, M., Yang, Y., Haj, A. J. E., Then, K. Y., & Liu, K. (2005) · Journal of The Royal Society Interface · doi:10.1098/rsif.2005.0065 · Cited by 314 · see citing works
Mechanotransduction from the ECM to the genome: Are the pieces now in place?
Gieni, R. S., & Hendzel, M. J. (2007) · Journal of Cellular Biochemistry · doi:10.1002/jcb.21364 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Determining substrate displacement and cell traction fields—a new approach
Yang, Z., Lin, J., Chen, J., & Wang, J. H.-C. (2006) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2006.05.005 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
High throughput cell nanomechanics with mechanical imaging interferometry
Reed, J. C., Frank, M. J., Troke, J. J., et al. (2008) · Nanotechnology · doi:10.1088/0957-4484/19/23/235101 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Self-citationMicrostructures in 3D Biological Gels Affect Cell Proliferation
Norman, J. J., Collins, J. M., Sharma, S., Russell, B., & Desai, T. A. (2008) · Tissue Engineering Part A · doi:10.1089/tea.2007.0077 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Kim, D.-Y., Lee, J., Saraswat, V., & Park, Y. (2000) · Biotechnology and Bioengineering · doi:10.1002/1097-0290(20000820)69:4 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- [1]Mecham RP J. S. B. e. a. Current Protocols in Cell Biology 2003 10.11.11 11.11.14 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York editorial board
- [3]Frey MT Engler A Discher DE Lee J Wang YL Cell Mechanics 2007 Vol. 83 47 65 Elsevier Academic Press Inc San Diego
- [7]Kleinman HK J. S. B. e. a. Current Protocols in Cell Biology 2003 10.12.11 10.12.10 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York editorial board
- [9]Kleinman HK J. S. B. e. a. Current Protocols in Cell Biology 2003 10.13.11 10.13.19 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York editorial board
- [12]Davies HG Wilkins MHF Chayen J Lacour LF Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 1954 95 271 &
- [13]Johnson KL 1985 84 104 Cambridge University Press New York
- [14]Johnson KL Kendall K Roberts AD Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series a-Mathematical and Physical Sciences 1971 324 301 313
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Synthetic alternatives to Matrigel
Aisenbrey, E. A., & Murphy, W. L. (2020) · Nature Reviews Materials · doi:10.1038/s41578-020-0199-8 · Cited by 1,016 · see citing works
Towards organoid culture without Matrigel
Kozlowski, M. T., Crook, C. J., & Ku, H. T. (2021) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02910-8 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
The elastic modulus of Matrigel™ as determined by atomic force microscopy
Soofi, S. S., Last, J. A., Liliensiek, S. J., Nealey, P. F., & Murphy, C. J. (2009) · Journal of Structural Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2009.05.005 · Cited by 309 · see citing works
Synthetic scaffolds for 3D cell cultures and organoids: applications in regenerative medicine
Marchini, A., & Gelain, F. (2022) · Critical Reviews in Biotechnology · doi:10.1080/07388551.2021.1932716 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
- Authors
- Reed, J., Walczak, W. J., Petzold, O. N., & Gimzewski, J. K.
- Affiliations
- Corning (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Reed, Jason
- Gimzewski, James K.
- Venue
- Langmuir
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2008-12-02
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 36-39
- ISSN
- 0743-7463 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5827
- PMC
- PMC3437936
- OpenAlex
- W2046697579
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Langmuir (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R21GM074509)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Metal and Thin Film Mechanics
- Keywords
- local elasticity, soft biological materials, Hertz contact model, yield strength, plastic deformation, cell traction forces, cell substrates
- MeSH terms
- Collagen, Drug Combinations, Laminin, Proteoglycans, Cell Culture Techniques
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
