Institut Lumière Matière (iLM)

ILM is one of the leading French institutes in condensed matter, atomic, molecular and optical physics with a strong expertise in nanoscience, soft matter and interfaces including nanobiophysics. The institute hosts both experimental and theoretical laboratories.

The Biophysics team is working on cellular biology issues (adhesion, motility and tumor escape, cell and membrane mechanics) with biophysical approaches on models such as embryonic multicellular spheroids, breast and prostate cancer cells, Dictyostelium Discoideum. It recently started to work on the mechanical properties of cancer stem cells. The laboratory also works on membrane physics and mechanics in the context of biolubrication and sonoporation.

The laboratory is developing original methods such as 3D traction force microscopy to measure the mechanical forces exerted by crawling cells or by confined cells on their surroundings, microfluidics based cell sorting and cell-substrate detachments assays, automated cell tracking, homemade compression methods and microrheological and acoustic methods to measure the mechanical properties of tissues.