Forces in Living Systems

Tissue formation and organ development in animals is a complex, lifelong process. The detailed quantitative evaluation of tissue construction and tissue-cell interaction is essential for a detailed understanding of organ development and its associated malfunctions which can be attributed to a variety of different disease states. §§§However, quantitative studies of cellular events in vivo are restricted since high resolution techniques characterizing cell functions are not suitable for living organism. In vitro models of the ECM therefore represent an approximation of in vivo conditions with the ability to investigate the effects of physical parameters on cell and organ development.§§§In respect to tissue culture techniques, standard cell culture do not possess three dimensionality and variation of compliance on the micrometer scale as observed in the ECM. Therefore essentialy new materials and techniques are needed, where surface compliance, structural geometry and chemical composition of ECM models can be adjusted independently. In addition, local force§and compliance measurements should produce new insights in cell-ECM interaction and tissue§development.