Publications by Veronika Cencen

Interface flexibility controls the nucleation and growth of supramolecular networks

Georg Fantner, Maartje Martina Cornelia Bastings, Navid Asmari Saadabad, Cem Tekin, Veronika Cencen, Vincenzo Caroprese

Supramolecular networks are abundantly present in nature and, like crystalline materials, often develop from an initial nucleation site, followed by growth based on directional interactions between components. Traditionally, the binding strength and direct ...

2025

Advancements in Nanomechanical Characterization and Biomolecular Imaging with Atomic force Microscopy

Veronika Cencen

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used imaging tool for obtaining a variety of information for a range of samples. Although it was initially intended to serve as a method of observing very flat solid surfaces, its use expanded into several other fi ...

EPFL2024

High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging of DNA Three-Point-Star Motif Self Assembly Using Photothermal Off-Resonance Tapping

Georg Fantner, Maartje Martina Cornelia Bastings, Bahareh Ghadiani, Marcos Penedo Garcia, Santiago Harald Andany, Cem Tekin, Mustafa Kangül, Veronika Cencen

High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is a popular molecular imaging technique for visualizing single-molecule biological processes in real-time due to its ability to image under physiological conditions in liquid environments. The photothermal off-r ...

Journal Of Visualized Experiments2024

Mechanical Properties of Soft Biological Membranes for Organ-on-a-Chip Assessed by Bulge Test and AFM

Georg Fantner, Johann Michler, Veronika Cencen

Advanced in vitro models called “organ-on-a-chip” can mimic the specific cellular environment found in various tissues. Many of these models include a thin, sometimes flexible, membrane aimed at mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold of in vivo ...

2021

Cancer-cell stiffening via cholesterol depletion enhances adoptive T-cell immunotherapy

Georg Fantner, Mahmut Selman Sakar, Li Tang, Lucia Bonati, Murat Kaynak, Mélanie Thérèse Marie Hannebelle, Yugang Guo, Yuqing Xie, Min Gao, Armand Kurum

Cancer cells enriched in cholesterol in their plasma membrane impair T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity, which can be augmented by stiffening the cancer cells via cholesterol depletion, as shown in mouse models of adoptive T-cell immunotherapy. Malignant transfo ...

2021