Viscoelasticity of the leading edge, i.e., the lamellipodium, of a cell is the key property for a deeper understanding of the active extension of a cell’s leading edge. The fact that the lamellipodium of a cell is very thin (\1000 nm) imparts special challenges for accurate measurements of its...

A new method is presented that combines dual fluorescence microscopy and single-particle tracking (SPT) to investigate the impact of spatial inhomogeneities inmembraneson lateral diffusion withinLangmuir monolayers. In contrast to previousSPTexperiments, random walks of individual fluorescent tracer...

A new scanning probe-based microrheology approach is used to quantify the frequency-dependent viscoelastic behavior of both fibroblast cells and polymer gels. The scanning probe shape was modified using polystyrene beads for a defined surface area nondestructively deforming the sample. An extended Hertz...

Control over neuronal growth is a fundamental objective in neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology, biophysics, and biomedicine and is particularly important for the formation of neural circuits in vitro, as well as nerve regeneration in vivo [Zeck, G. & Fromherz, P. (2001) Proc. Natl....