Quantifying cell-generated forces: Poisson’s ratio matters

Abstract

Mechanical forces play important roles in cell biology and traction force microscopy (TFM) experiments have enabled quantification of the cell-generated forces when placed on substrates of distinct stiffnesses. Here the authors evaluate the effect of the Poisson’s ratio- one of the main descriptors of the material’s mechanical behaviour together with the Elastic Modulus, in the context of TFM experiments.