Nanoindentation made simple – optimized for the biological workflow

Too many mechanical secrets at the localized level remain undiscovered. Understanding how biological components such as cells, tissues, and organs, as well as biomaterials sense and respond to biological cues to regulate numerous biological processes is key to advancing the current state of translational research and therapy development. 

Pavone provides a high-throughput, reliable and easy to use solution to expand any advanced laboratory infrastructure. This automated platform generates comprehensive mechanobiology insights to advance your research. Due to pre-calibrated optical fiber sensors and pre-programmed experiments this instrument is a true time saver which can generate many powerful results through easy to obtain functional readouts. Pavone measures the local mechanical properties of cells, biomaterials, and 3D in vitro models

Elevate Your Research: Discover the Power of Pavone Nanoindenter!

Experience precision and innovation in nano-mechanical exploration. Stay ahead in your research. Schedule a meeting with our experts and redefine your research boundaries.

Applications

Pavone is a versatile tool for a range of applications, including the study of spheroids, organoids, hydrogels, the extracellular matrix (ECM), single cells, 2D cultures, and ex vivo tissues. It supports critical research in wound healing, in-vitro culturing, eye care, and regenerative medicine. Targeting disease areas, Pavone is pivotal in advancing our understanding of fibrosis, cancer, and neuromuscular disorders. For testing needs, it offers precise solutions in drug screening, functional assays, and degradability testing. Pavone is instrumental in mechanobiology research, equipping scientists with the ability to not only observe but to interact with the building blocks of life at a mechanical level, fostering a deeper understanding of cellular behavior and disease mechanisms.

By sample

Spheroids & organoids 

Hydrogels*

Extracellular matrix

Single cell and 2D cultures

Ex vivo tissue

By application area

Wound healing

In vitro culturing

Eye care and medical devices

Tissue regeneration 

Cartilage regeneration 

Skin regeneration 

Cultured meat

By disease area

Fibrosis

Cancer 

Neuromuscular disorders

By testing need

Drug screening/toxicity

Degradability testing

Quality control

Mechanobiology research*

Key features

Pavone features an exclusive combination of automated indentation, bright-field imaging, and optional fluorescence imaging, and environmental control. Compatible with up to 2 x 96-well plates, it uniquely measures soft materials in well plates for large and extended living sample experiments. Its user-friendly workflow eliminates the need for specialized operators and extensive training, reducing equipment requirements, processing times, and costs. Importantly, Pavone measures a wide range of biological samples with high force resolution in a non-destructive manner.

Combine cell-scale / localized mechanical testing, microscopy, and environmental control in one device for synchronized operation and control.  The modular design of Pavone provides the opportunity to add modules to further scale up your research capabilities, offering a future proof addition to your lab’s infrastructure. 

The fluorescence module allows for the correlation of mechanical information with molecular and structural characteristics. 

The environmental control module offers a variety of options for reproducing near-physiological conditions during biomaterial measurements:

  • The temperature control functionality ensures a consistent and stable temperature at physiological levels.
  • The CO2 and humidity functionalities provide an incubator-like environment, recreating a natural atmosphere to maintain cell- and tissue viability while running experiments over extended periods of time. 
  • Mechanics: apply from 0.2 nN – 1.5mN, to characterize from 10 Pa – 1 G Pa.
  • Optics: brightfield and phase contrast 
    • Widefield fluorescence (optional)
  • Environmental control (optional): temperature, CO2, humidity

Our advanced system incorporates a feedback loop that facilitates high-precision measurements in quasi-static, stress relaxation/creep, and dynamic indentation scenarios. This feature ensures exceptional accuracy in both force sensing and indentation-depth control. This precision is crucial for accurately assessing complex mechanical properties like nonlinearity, adhesion, viscoelasticity, and poroelasticity, providing detailed insights into material behaviors.

Our system is equipped with closed-loop XY stages, offering sub-micrometer positioning accuracy across expansive ranges — more than 10 cm in each direction. This capability enables precise measurement of both small-scale features and large samples with equal ease. Complementing this, the Z stage boasts an impressive 29 mm travel range and a fine 2.5 nm encoder resolution. Paired with our diverse range of probes, it allows for adjustable contact radius between 500 nm and 50 µm. This adaptability is key for accurately conforming to samples with highly irregular surfaces, ensuring detailed and reliable measurements across a variety of sample types.

Trusted by
experts

“The Pavone allows us to perform accurate mechanical measurements on spherical micrometer-sized materials, which has always been true challenge with other techniques. Moreover, the Pavone allows us to obtain spatially resolved mechanical maps of complex matter such as multi-materials or human tissues in a way that is both straightforward and easy to learn.”

Prof. Dr. Leijten

Dept. of Developmental BioEngineering, TechMed Centre, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, The Netherlands.

“Pavone enables us to test different materials and get the data we wanted to get so far, with yields in the high-90% range. Calibration is very straightforward and much easier than traditional technologies [for mechanical characterization] . We’re able to get consistent measurements from day-to-day using the same probe. Pavone allows us to utilize mechanics in addition to transcriptional profiling to determine how the cell biology of our models compares to the cell biology within a patient.”

Dr. Vincent Fiore

Senior Scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim

Pavone resources

Case Study

Pavone | Down the rabbit hole

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White Papers

From single cells to complex 3D environments

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Specification Sheets

Pavone Specification Sheet v5

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Factsheets

Pavone Factsheet

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Specification Sheets

Pavone Fluorescence Module

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Technical Notes

Pavone Environmental Control Module Technical Note v.TN_ENV_2023.1

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Brochures

Pavone Brochure

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Elevate Your Research: Discover the Power of Pavone Nanoindenter!

Experience precision and innovation in nano-mechanical exploration. Stay ahead in your research. Schedule a meeting with our experts and redefine your research boundaries.

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PLATFORMS THAT ACCELERATE TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Whether your focus lies on mechanical measurements and characterization at the cell scale, or you work with muscle tissues, our platforms offer you precise, fast, and accurate outcomes. Discover more about how our products can help you accelerate and achieve your research goals. 

WHO WE ARE

We are a growing team of 60+ passionate people, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Learn more about our journey so far, meet our team of professionals, and our career opportunities. 

SERVICE & SUPPORT

From initial interest to full-scale implementation, and throughout the entire lifecycle of our instruments, we offer our customers a dedicated and customized experience. We focus on optimizing the functionality and operation of our instruments, to ensure peak efficiency, enhancing their research productivity.

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