Ricerc@Sapienza

The mechanical characterization of biological samples is a fundamental issue in biology
and related fields, such as tissue and cell mechanics, regenerative medicine and diagnosis of diseases.
In this paper, a novel approach for the identification of the stiffness and damping coefficients
of biosamples is introduced. According to the proposed method, a MEMS-based microgripper
in operational condition is used as a measurement tool. The mechanical model describing the

In this paper, the viscoelastic characterization of biosamples is addressed considering a measuring technique relying on the use of a MEMS techonology-based microgripper. A proper mechanical model is developed for the coupled nonlinear dynamics of the microsystem, composed of the measuring tool and the specimen to be analyzed. The Maxwell liquid drop model and the generalized Maxwell-Wiechert model are considered for the sample, and the identification of the viscoelastic parameters is performed by implementing a genetic algorithm.