Polyacrylamide Gels for Invadopodia and Traction Force Assays on Cancer Cells

Mechanical rigidity in the tumor microenvironment plays a crucial role in driving malignant behavior by increasing invadopodia activity and actomyosin contractility. Using polyacrylamide gels (PAAs), invadopodia and traction force assays can be utilized to study the invasive and contractile properties of cancer cells in response to matrix rigidity.