Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is one of the microscopic techniques with the highest lateral
resolution. It can usually be applied in air or even in liquids, enabling the investigation of a …

Microgels are colloidal polymer networks with high molar mass and properties between rigid
particles, flexible macromolecules, and micellar aggregates. Their unique stimuli …

Hydrogels hold promise in agriculture as reservoirs of water in dry soil, potentially alleviating
the burden of irrigation. However, confinement in soil can markedly reduce the ability of …

A panoply of new tools for tracking single particles and molecules has led to an explosion of
experimental data, leading to novel insights into physical properties of living matter …

Thermoresponsive hydrogels such as poly (N‐isopropylacrylamide)(pNIPAM) are highly
interesting materials for generating soft actuator systems. Whereas the material has so far …

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of soft tissues in vivo has remarkable biological and structural
properties. Thereby, the ECM provides mechanical stability while it still can be rearranged …

The measurement of the elastic modulus of soft biomaterials via nanoindentation relies on
the accurate determination of the zero-point of the tip-sample interaction on which the depth …

Activated ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins link the plasma membrane to the actin
cytoskeleton to generate apical structures, including microvilli. Among many kinases …

Hydrogels are commonly used materials in tissue engineering and organ-on-chip devices.
This study investigated the nanomechanical properties of monolithic and multilayered poly …

RNA can self‐fold into complex structures that can serve as major biological regulators in
protein synthesis and in catalysis. Due to the abundance of structural primitives and …