Measurement of mechanical properties of Caenorhabditis elegans with a piezoresistive microcantilever system

The proteins implicated in the sense of touch in C. elegans have homologs in humans, which are implicated in mechanotransduction. Understanding the sense of touch may enable new treatments for mechanosensory degradation associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The mechanical properties of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are necessary for meaningful analysis of its mechanotransduction mechanisms. We present an indentation method using a custom piezoresistive microfabricated cantilever based force feedback system to determine these mechanical properties. The worm is partially immobilized for measurement of the properties. We estimate that C. elegans has an effective modulus of ∼50 kPa.