Compression of a pressurized spherical shell by a spherical or flat probe

Abstract: Measuring the mechanical properties of cells and tissues often involves indentation with a sphere, or compression between two plates. Previously, different theoretical approaches have been developed to retrieve material parameters (e.g. elastic modulus) or state variables (e.g. pressure) from such experiments. Here, we extend previous theoretical work on indentation of a spherical pressurized shell by a point force to cover indentation by a spherical probe or a plate. We provide formulae that enable the modulus or pressure to be deduced from experimental results with realistic contact geometries, giving different results that are applicable depending on pressure level. We expect our results to be broadly useful when investigating biomechanics or mechanobiology of cells and tissues.