Piezoresistive Cantilever-based Force-Clamp System for the Study of Mechanotransduction in C. Elegans

Abstract

Understanding how the mechanoreceptor neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans mediate mechanotransduction can unravel how touch works, but new tools are required to quantitatively analyze the relationship between mechanical loading and the physiological response. Here we present a piezoresistive cantilever-based force clamp system that can apply user-defined force profiles to C. elegans. We present a novel MEMS force-clamp system and demonstrate a piezoresistive cantilever with low 1/f noise, low noise floor and high force resolution suitable for these measurements. Initial studies enabled by the system are also discussed.