Optics11 Chiaro Nanoindenter: MPI-CBG

Optics11 Chiaro Nanoindenter

Nanoindentation measurements of soft samples like gels, cells, tissues, or organoids are enabled by a Chiaro Nanoindenter from Optics11. The nanoindenter is mounted on a Nikon Ti2 Eclipse fluorescence microscope, which enables simultaneous imaging of the probed sample. Material properties like the quasi-static Young's modulus or dynamic loss and storage moduli can be measured.

Instrument configuration

Advised stiffness ranges for expected Young’s Moduli:

Sample Young’s modulus	Advised cantilever stiffness
10 Pa – 18 kPa	0.025 N/m
100 Pa – 180 kPa	0.25 N/m
2 kPa – 3.6 MPa	5 N/m
18 kPa – 36 MPa	50 N/m
89 kPa – 180 MPa	250 N/m

Available cantilevers have a spherical tip with diameters and stiffnesses shown in the table below. Cantilevers are mounted on probes with two different thicknesses and heights, where thin probes are suited to indent samples in small well plates.

Radius	Stiffness	Thickness of probe*
3 um	0.025 N/m	thick / thin
3 um	0.5 N/m	thin
10 um	0.025 N/m	thin
10 um	0.5 N/m	thick / thin
10 um	4.5 N/m	thick
25 um	0.025 N/m	thick / thin
25 um	0.5 N/m	thick / thin
50 um	0.5 N/m	thick

* Dimensions of probes are (T×W×H in mm each): thick 3 × 3.7 × 5.4, thin 2 × 1.4 × 18.6

Indentation measurements can be performed in the following modes:
- D-mode: controlled displacement of cantilever
- I-mode: controlled indentation into sample
- P-mode: controlled load onto sample
- PLP-mode: controlled poke into sample
- DMA-mode: dynamic measurement with sinusoidal indentation for frequencies of 0.05 Hz – 20 Hz
Type of sample mounting: compatible with well plates, 35 mm dishes, and chamber slides

Biophysics Core Facility

Optics11 Chiaro Nanoindenter

Location