Gel materials that guide the unknown functions of cells through microscopic fluctuations.

Keywords: Gel, protein materials, cell culture, cancer, microfluidics

Biological organisms are capable of flexible movement, and the power source for this movement is motor proteins. Each molecule moves only a few nanometers, but an immense number of molecules act cooperatively to enable organisms to achieve a wide range of movements, from bacteria to whales. Using purified motor proteins, "microtubules and kinesin," we are developing "motion gel" materials that exhibit fluctuating motion at the micrometer scale, larger than molecules (nanometers), by bridging and moving them in a network structure. We are conducting research to apply the "ability of motion gel to shake small objects" in biomedical engineering. We are focusing on the fact that the environment surrounding cells in living organisms also "fluctuates" at the micrometer scale, and we aim to create an environment that actively generates fluctuations to capture the unknown behaviors and potential of cells. In the future, it may be possible to classify and predict cancer metastasis based on the patterns of movement of cancer cells.

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