This thesis focuses on the experimental study of physical properties and biomechanics of embryonic cell aggregates. The aim of this thesis was on one hand to better understand the biological origin of tissue viscosity and tissue surface tension, and on the other hand to study quantitatively in detail cell elasticity by means of new rheological measurements in shear. A first chapter deals with measurements of tissue surface tension by tissue compression method and tissue viscosity by analysis of the fusion kinetics of two aggregates. We vary key parameters such as cell contractility that some people suspect to be the main biological origin of these parameters. We use the formalism of DITH (Haris, 1976: Differential Interfacial Tension Hypothesis) to interpret the data. The second chapter deals with rheological measurements in shear using a commercial plate-plate rheometer over several hundred of aggregates. We showed that cells become softer after a minimal deformation of 4% is reached, and can harden again on the timescale of hour. These experiences are analyzed using a model of springs that break under stress and then reattach at zero strain.
