Cell mechanics

By working together, the three types of polymers can organize themselves to counter the applied external forces and resist deformation.

Being the narrowest with a diameter of 7 nm and most flexible out of the three types of polymers, actin filaments are typically found at the very edge of the cytoplasm in animal cells.

Furthermore, actin filaments have the ability to be assembled and disassembled quickly, allowing them to take part in cell mobility.

In terms of cell mechanics, microtubules’ main purpose is to resist compressive cellular forces and act as a transportation system for motor proteins.

The research done by Sarna's team proved that heavily pigmented melanoma cells have Young's modulus about 4.93, when in non-pigmented ones it was only 0.98.

[10] In another experiment they found that elasticity of melanoma cells is important for its metastasis and growth: non-pigmented tumors were bigger than pigmented and it was much easier for them to spread.

[22] A particular focus of many cell mechanical studies has been the cytoskeleton, which (in animal cells) can be thought to consist of: The active non-equilibrium and non-linear rheological properties of cellular assemblies have been keen point of research in recent times.