Quantification of Cell-Matrix Interaction in 3D Using Optical Tweezers

The behavior of living cellsCell is significantly affected by the mechanical properties of the surrounding soft extracellular matrixExtracellular matrix (ECM) comprising of various types of biopolymers. More complexity is added as cell-generated forces in turn can mechanically modify their microenvironment. Moreover, these forces can also act as mechanical signals for other cells leading to emergent collective cellCell dynamics. Bulk measurement techniques are not capable of resolving these local mechanical interactions which are often hidden in 3D, thus, optical tweezersOptical tweezers have emerged as a powerful tool to directly characterize microscale mechanics and forces at play. In this chapter, we first introduce a typical experimental setup of optical tweezersOptical tweezers and calibration methods that has been widely accepted by the mechanobiologyMechanobiology community. Subsequently, we discuss various ways in which optical tweezers can be used to probe mechanics at different length scales such as the cytoplasm at the sub-cellular level, at the level of whole cell and finally explore the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactionCell-matrix interactions. Later, perspectives on the future development of optical tweezers to study cell-matrix interaction is also provided.