Specifications include, but are not limited to: At a minimum, the equipment will meet the following: Able to employ optical interferometry to non-destructively measure the viscoelastic properties of soft materials (1 Pa to 1 GPa) in air and transparent physiological liquid. Able to attach to a standard inverted microscope (ISU provides) Routinely be able to measure cell-scale mechanics of biosamples: hydrogel micromechanical behavior, cytoskeletal elastic and viscous behavior Minimally operational in 3 modes: controlled piezo displacement, sample loading with a minimum force resolution of 20 pN, and sample indentation with a minimum depth of 50 nm. Able to measure samples in a liquid environment to mimic in vitro and in vivo conditions. Step resolution - 5 nm or better Standard piezo travel - 20 µm or better Able to achieve approximately 12 mm total displacement along the X-, Y-, and Z- axis. Able to create high resolution X-Y maps of the local surface mechanics with lateral mapping resolution of at least 1 µm and up to one indentation per second or better.
