Three-dimensional reflectance traction microscopy applied to a mechanically deformed collagen matrix.

<p>(A) Schematic illustration of the experimental setup with side view (i) and top view (ii). A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel (20 mm × 3 mm) is in contact with collagen gel and is inflated with air. When air is released, the squeezed collagen gel relaxes to a stress-free state, resulting in a deformation field which is expected to follow the arrows in (i) and (ii). The red rectangle encloses the volume of the confocal imaging field of view. (B) The 3D deformation field calculated with PVC algorithm. Deformation along z-axis (<i>D</i>_<i>z</i>) of three selected cross-sections (corresponding to the green lines in A(ii)) are shown as color maps. The lateral deformation field (<i>D</i>_<i>x</i> and <i>D</i>_<i>y</i>) of a selected horizontal cross-section is shown as arrows. The arrows are color coded by the magnitude of the lateral deformation field .