A novel quantitative sonoelastography technique for assessing the viscoelastic properties of skeletal muscle tissue was developed. Slowly propagating shear wave interference patterns (termed crawling waves) were generated using a two-source configuration vibrating normal to the surface. Theoretical models predict crawling wave displacement fields, which were validated through phantom studies. I...

In this paper, micro-mechanical properties of styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) latexmodified cement pastes identified by means of the nanoindentation (NI) technique are related to macro-mechanical properties of SBR latex-modified mortars obtained from standard test methods, considering an SBR latex/cement ratio varying from 0% to 20%. For this purpose, the average value of the hardness and the so...

Complex rheology of airway smooth muscle cells and its dynamic response during contractile stimulation involves many molecular processes, foremost of which are actomyosin cross-bridge cycling and actin polymerization. With an atomic force microscope, we tracked the spatial and temporal variations of the viscoelastic properties of cultured airway smooth muscle cells. Elasticity mapping identifie...

Biophysical cues are widely recognized to influence cell phenotype. While this evidence was established using static substrates, there is growing interest in creating stimulus-responsive biomaterials that better recapitulate the dynamic extracellular matrix. Here, a clickable, photodegradable hydrogel substrate that allows the user to precisely control substrate elasticity and topography in sit...

Using a strain-controlled rheometer, the dynamic viscoelastic properties of aqueous xanthan gum solutions with different concentrations were measured over a wide range of strain amplitudes and then the linear viscoelastic behavior in small amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields was investigated over a broad range of angular frequencies. In this article, both the strain amplitude and concentrat...

This paper presents a direct inversion approach for reconstructing the elastic shear modulus in soft tissue from dynamic measurements of the interior displacement field during time harmonic excitation. The tissue is assumed to obey the equations of nearly incompressible, linear, isotropic elasto-dynamics in harmonic motion. A finite element discretization of the governing equations is used as a...

In this work we present a study on mechanical properties of Zea mays primary roots. In order to have an accurate overview of the root structure, three different regions have been analyzed: the outer wall, the inner part, and the root cap. We used a dynamic nanoindentation technique to measure the elasticity modulus of root tissues in correspondence of different distances from the root tip. A sa...