New Materials and Biosystems (Spatz)

Investigation of the interaction between synthetic and living materials:
• Understanding of the dynamic regulation of adhesive contacts and of the cytoskeleton architecture of cells, its resultant influence on cellular activities.
  
• Application of new optical and mechanical techniques and novel micro- and nanostructured materials to perform adhesion and mechanical experiments on living cells.
• Construction of biomimetic models of protein networks with tunable complexity to untangle chemo-mechanical properties of the cytoskeleton and the adhesion complex.