We introduce non-toxic ingestible mechanosensors to enable the quantitative study of luminal forces and apply them to study feeding in living Caenorhabditis elegans.
These optical 'microgauges' comprise upconverting NaY 0.8Yb 0.18Er 0.02F 4@NaYF 4 nanoparticles embedded in polystyrene microspheres, allowing detailed measurement of force.
Our findings show that adult C. elegans generate bite forces during feeding of about 10 µN, linking muscle activity with feeding behavior.
Microgauges enable quantitative studies investigating how neuromuscular stresses are affected by ageing, genetic mutations and drug treatments in this organ and other luminal organs.
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