The Bioengineering and Nanosciences Laboratory and the Charles CoUlomb Laboratory inaugurate the operation of a microscope unique in France
Recording images of the mechanical state of cells is now possible at the University of Montpellier, thanks to the Brillouin microscope for biology developed by the Bioengineering and Nanoscience Laboratory and the Charles Coulomb Laboratory. The Brillouin microscope will be inaugurated on June 27, 2024 at 5pm on the Triolet site during the Brillouin imaging training days.
Mechanobiology is an emerging scientific field at the interface of biology, engineering, chemistry and physics. It focuses on how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues contribute to development, cellular differentiation, physiology and disease.
The role and importance of the mechanical properties of cells and tissues in cellular function, development and disease have all been widely recognized. However, the standard techniques currently used to assess them have their limitations. Recently, Brillouin microscopy has emerged as a non-destructive, label-free and non-contact method capable of probing the viscoelastic properties of biological samples with sub-micrometric 3D resolution. This has attracted increasing attention from the entire scientific community.
An innovation in mechanobiology
Brillouin microscopy, which has long been applied to materials, is undergoing rapid development in the field of biology, thanks to advances in certain optical components. The applications of such a tool are numerous, and concern both the state of rigidity of healthy and pathological cells, their interactions or their dynamics under different conditions.
Above, the first images of cells using the Brillouin microscope developed by a team at L2C, in collaboration with LBN. Here, a stem cell found in the tooth (dental pulp). The image can be sliced according to the rigidity of the various compartments. This opens up a vast field of applications and understanding of biological phenomena at the cellular level, and numerous collaborations are underway.