[PRECELLYS] Isolation of myofibrils from small samples of myocardial tissue

The main function of striated muscles is to generate force by shortening their length. This occurs when their subcellular myofibrils contract. A myofibril (diameter ~1 µm) contains contractile subunits arranged in series, called sarcomeres. A sarcomere contains mainly thin (e.g., actin, troponin, tropomyosin) and thick (e.g., myosin, myosin light chains) filaments that slide along each other when the muscle contracts or relaxes.
The project focuses on the preparation of single myofibrils or thin myofibrillar bundles isolated from chemically skinned myocardial tissues (e.g., pig, human), in order to use the least tissue possible (e.g., resulting from needle biopsies). The contractile function of myofibrils can be further investigated using a micromechanical setup based on nN-sensitive force probe.