Advantages of integrating Brillouin microscopy in multimodal mechanical mapping of cells and tissues

Recent research has highlighted the growing significance of the mechanical properties of cells and tissues in the proper execution of physiological functions within an organism; alterations to these properties can potentially result in various diseases. These mechanical properties can be assessed using various techniques that vary in spatial and temporal resolutions as well as applications. Due to the wide range of mechanical behaviors exhibited by cells and tissues, a singular mapping technique may be insufficient in capturing their complexity and nuance. Consequently, by utilizing a combination of methods–multimodal mechanical mapping–researchers can achieve a more comprehensive characterization of mechanical properties, encompassing factors such as stiffness, modulus, viscoelasticity, and forces. Furthermore, different mapping techniques can provide complementary information and enable the exploration of spatial and temporal variations to enhance our understanding of cellular dynamics and tissue mechanics. By capitalizing on the unique strengths of each method while mitigating their respective limitations, a more precise and holistic understanding of cellular and tissue mechanics can be obtained. Here, we spotlight Brillouin microscopy (BM) as a noncontact, noninvasive, and label-free mechanical mapping modality to be coutilized alongside established mechanical probing methods. This review summarizes some of the most widely adopted individual mechanical mapping techniques and highlights several recent multimodal approaches demonstrating their utility. We envision that future studies aim to adopt multimodal techniques to drive advancements in the broader realm of mechanobiology.