Cells in living tissues are constantly squeezed and deformed by their neighbors, and the actin cortex, a dense mesh just beneath the plasma membrane, is central to how they respond. Its fine structure, only a few hundred nanometers thick, lies beyond the reach of conventional fluorescence microscopy.
In this application note, researchers at Institut Curie (Piel lab) and Abbelight combine precise mechanical cell confinement with 3D single-molecule localization microscopy to show how the cortex reorganizes when cells are compressed. Using the Abbelight SAFe360 with DONALD technology for absolute, drift-free axial localization, the study maps actin density in 3D and reveals how compression shifts the cortex toward the membrane and gives rise to blebs filled with a finer, denser actin mesh.
Download the app note to discover:
- How to visualize and quantify dense actin networks at the nanoscale in 3D
- A complete workflow, from cell confinement and fixation to dSTORM imaging and analysis
- How DONALD technology delivers reference-free axial positioning with 10 nm precision near the coverslip
- Quantitative insights into cortex thickness, actin distribution, and cell contact area under compression
Ideal for researchers in cell biology, mechanobiology, and biophysics exploring how physical forces shape the cytoskeleton.
