Isolating Myofibrils from Skeletal Muscle Biopsies and Determining Contractile Function with a Nano-Newton Resolution Force TransducerMartijn van de Locht 1, Josine M. de Winter 1, Dilson E. Rassier 2, Michiel H.B. Helmes 1,3, Coen A.C. Ottenheijm 1
1Department of Physiology, Amsterdam UMC, 2Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University, 3IONOptix BV
Presented here is a protocol to assess the contractile properties of striated muscle myofibrils with nano-Newton resolution. The protocol employs a setup with an interferometry-based, optical force probe. This setup generates data with a high signal-to-noise ratio and enables the assessment of the contractile kinetics of myofibrils.