Figure 6.

Tools to measure mechanical properties: Optical based sensors: (A) Traction force microscopy can be used to obtain 3D force maps occurring during 3D structural rearrangements. (B) Deformable microsensors (beads and oil drops) can be used to probe the local mechanical environment within a 3D cell structure. (C) Optical tweezers can be used to study intracellular forces and viscoelastic properties. (D) FRET-based sensors are used to report spatial and temporal information about forces within a cell. Mechanical based sensors: (E) AFM, (F) micropipette aspiration, and (G) parallel plates are tools used to measure surface tensions and elastic/viscoelastic properties. (H) Osmotic perturbations are used to understand pressure-volume regulatory mechanisms. (I) Laser ablations can tell us about the elastic and viscoelastic behaviors of cells and 3D tissues.