Hydraulic force spectroscopy: An interferometry-based approach to micropipette aspiration for mechanobiology studies at the nanoscale

We present a new approach to Micropipette Aspiration (MPA), a pioneering method in mechanobiology, that introduces an all-optical readout to retrieve both applied stress and material response. Our technique, i.e. Hydraulic Force Spectroscopy, expands on the current MPA experimental possibilities, allowing for frequency-dependent complex moduli measurements of soft suspended bodies over a large bandwidth, with nanometric resolution. This is achieved by oscillating the pressure on the sample by tens of Pascals with a multifrequency signal, by means of a fast pump. Our goal is to use this technique to define new label-free biomarkers for different applications, e.g. embryo viability control.