CHIARO NANOINDENTER

Explore the micro-mechanical properties of cells and soft samples with the Chiaro nanoindenter

Chiaro Nanoindenter

The Chiaro is the ideal nanoindentation instrument to explore the micro-mechanical properties of cells, spheroids or other small samples. Therefore, this instrument is purposely built to measure forces on cells and micro-materials while placed on an inverted microscope. 

The Chiaro nanoindenter is capable of measuring many mechanical parameters. These include the Young’s Modulus (E), storage (E’) and loss moduli (E”). Moreover, both, static and dynamic indentation can be performed using this instrument, including creep, stress-relaxation and DMA.

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Key Features

BRIDGE THE GAP FROM NANO-MECHANICS TO MACRO-MECHANICS
APPLY AND MEASURE EXTREMELY LOW FORCES
AUTOMATIC FIND-SURFACE FUNCTION
DIRECT DATA AND RESULT OUTPUT
ACCURATE, FAST, PRE-CALIBRATED AND EASY TO USE
LITTLE TO NO MAINTENANCE REQUIRED

What The Chiaro Users Say




"Our data is good, but the machine is excellent!"


Dr. Werner E. G. Müller
Univ.-Prof., Institut für Physiologische Chemie, Universitat Mainz, Germany.
"Based on the versatile fields of applications, the acquisition of the Piuma and Chiaro Nanoindenter from Optics11 will support the development of microtissue models to study liver fibrosis, the evaluation of novel bio-inks for 3D printing and finally the characterization of hydrogels for soft and hard tissue regeneration."
Franziska Koch
FHNW, Zwitserland Institute for Chemistry and Bioanalytics.

Combine With Microscopy

The Chiaro nanoindenter mounts with almost any inverted microscope. Therefore you can combine the Chiaro with the imaging equipment of your choice. For example, bright-field, phase contract, fluorescence and confocal scopes can be used in combination with our instrument.
Cell adhesion force experiment (2017). Courtesy of Dr. rer. nat. Petersen, Cellular Biomechanics, Julius Wolff Institute for Biomechanics and Musculoskeletal Regeneration, Charité, Berlin.
Due to the very low-footprint, immersable force sensor and independent mounting options the Chiaro nanoindenter is the ultimate companion for research on forces in biology at the micro, nano and pico-level.

Technology

The Chiaro Nanoindenter technology provides accurate and precise measurements of micro-mechanical properties of small samples and cells. These unique capabilities are enabled by the Optics11 Life patented micro-machined fiber-optic sensors. Because the sensors are fiber-optic the instrument can measure both in-air and liquid.
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The Chiaro nanoindenter uses this optical fiber sensor to gently push a spherical glass tip on the surface of the sample. By closely monitoring the resulting sample deformation, the Chiaro can rapidly provide all mechanical details of the indented spot.

In addition, all Optics11 Life probes are pre-calibrated making them plug-and-play design which streamlines experiments. This ensures fast measurements which is critical for time-sensitive biology-related experiments. Measuring the micro-mechanical properties of biomaterials has never been easier.

Downloads

Chiaro Brochure
Chiaro App-note
Chiaro Factsheet

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