biostudies-literatureRegan KNSFBoston UniversityNIBIB NIH HHSOffice of the DirectorNHLBI NIH HHSCentralized Otolaryngology Research EffortsNational Institutes of HealthArnold and Mabel Beckman FoundationNIH HHSNational Science Foundation250-266https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10922809biostudies-literatureUnknown176The mechanical properties of biological tissues have emerged as an integral determinant of tissue function in health and disease. Nonetheless, characterizing the elasticity of biological samples in 3D and at high resolution remains challenging. Here, we present a µElastography platform: a scalable elastography system that maps the elastic properties of tissues from cellular to organ scales. The platform leverages the use of a biocompatible, thermo-responsive hydrogel to deliver compressive stress to a biological sample and track its resulting deformation. By surrounding the specimen with a reference hydrogel of known Young's modulus, we are able to map the absolute values of elastic properties in biological samples. We validate the experimental and computational components of the platform Acta biomaterialiaMultiscale elasticity mapping of biological samples in 3D at optical resolution.PMC10922809DP2 HL168562S10OD024993DP2HL168562T32 EB006359R21 EB031332S10 OD024993R21EB031332LeBourdais RBanerji RZheng SNia HTMuhvich JZhang SRegan KfalseMultiscale elasticity mapping of biological samples in 3D at optical resolution.The mechanical properties of biological tissues have emerged as an integral determinant of tissue function in health and disease. Nonetheless, characterizing the elasticity of biological samples in 3D and at high resolution remains challenging. Here, we present a µElastography platform: a scalable elastography system that maps the elastic properties of tissues from cellular to organ scales. The platform leverages the use of a biocompatible, thermo-responsive hydrogel to deliver compressive stress to a biological sample and track its resulting deformation. By surrounding the specimen with a reference hydrogel of known Young's modulus, we are able to map the absolute values of elastic properties in biological samples. We validate the experimental and computational components of the platform 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Mar2025-04-04T01:14:02.132Z2025-04-04T01:14:02.132ZS-EPMC109228093816085710.1016/j.actbio.2023.12.036