Experimental data on the mechanical properties of the tissues of the mammalian cochlea are essential for understanding the frequency- and location-dependent motion patterns that result in response to incoming sound waves. Within the cochlea, sound-induced vibrations are transduced into neural activity by the organ of Corti, the gross motion of which is dependent on the motion of the underlying ...

Microand nano-scale hydrogel lines can be fabricated on substrates by top-down approaches such as lithography and micro/nano-imprint. When in contact with a solvent, the hydrogel lines swell under the constraint of the substrate, often resulting in distorted shapes or instability patterns. In this paper, using a nonlinear finite element method, the effects of material and geometry on swell-indu...

The term microstructure refers to the complete internal structure of a material on the micro, nano and atomic scales. On one hand, it records the entire history of a material’s processing and structuring (casting, forming, heat treatments, but also crystal growth, etc.) through its phase composition, defect structure and morphology. On the other hand, all properties (stiffness, formability, con...

Biomolecular motor proteins have the potential to be used as 'nano-engines' for controlled bioseparations and powering nano- and microelectromechanical systems. In order to engineer such systems, biocompatible nanofabrication processes are needed. In this work, we demonstrate an electron beam nanolithography process for patterning kinesin motor proteins. This process was then used to fabricate ...

Recently, in the development for piezoelectric and ferroelectric devices, the characterization method for nano-scale structure such as a ferroelectric domain and ferroelectric domain boundary (FeDB) has been important. The ultrasonic atomic force microscopy (UAFM) is expected to have the potential of elasticity characterization on the ferroelectric domain with nano-scale spatial resolution. In ...

Methods of wide-field fluorescence microscopy for measuring membrane dynamics of living cells are described, including spectral imaging as well as anisotropy imaging of the membrane marker 6-dodecanoyl-2-dimethylamino naphthalene (laurdan). Plasma membranes are selected by illumination with an evanescent electromagnetic field and distinguished from intracellular membranes assessed by whole-cell...

Nanoindentation testing of compliant materials has recently attracted substantial attention. However, nanoindentation is not readily applicable to softer materials, as numerous challenges remain to be overcome. One key concern is the significant effect of adhesion between the indenter tip and the sample, leading to larger contact areas and higher contact stiffness for a given applied force rela...