Department für Nanobiotechnologie (DNBT)

Replacement of the cantilever tip by a living cell in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) experiments permits the direct quantification of cell–substrate and cell–cell adhesion forces. This so-called single-cell probe force measurement technique has been employed in this work to differentiate between the adhesive capacities of parental and Sox2-overexpressing MCF7 breast cancer cells, having the latter a higher capacity for invasion and better resistance to endocrine therapy in vivo. Our findings demonstrate the strength of this combined approach to assess and compare the adhesion properties of different cell lines.

This international conference, taking place for the third time, bridges science, technology and translation in the broad area of biointerfaces.