Related papers: Mechanical model for a collagen fibril pair in ext…
Athermal models of disordered fibrous networks are highly useful for studying the mechanics of elastic networks composed of stiff biopolymers. The underlying network architecture is a key aspect that can affect the elastic properties of…
Cell--cell and cell-matrix adhesions play essential roles in the function of tissues. There is growing evidence for the importance of crosstalk between these two adhesion types, yet little is known about the impact of these interactions on…
Using continuum elasticity theory, we describe the elastic behavior of helical coils with an asymmetric double-helix structure and identify conditions, under which they become very rigid. Theoretical insight gained for macro-structures…
In this paper we report, clarify and broaden various recent efforts to complement the chemistry-centered models of force generation in muscles by mechanics-centered models. The physical mechanisms of interest can be grouped into two…
Cells sense the geometry and stiffness of their adhesive environment by active contractility. For strong adhesion to flat substrates, two-dimensional contractile network models can be used to understand how force is distributed throughout…
The study of the interactions of living adherent cells with mechanically stable (visco)elastic materials enables understanding and exploiting physiological phenomena mediated by cell-extracellular communication. However, insight on the…
Tissue-like materials are required in many robotic systems to improve human-machine interactions. However, the mechanical properties of living tissues are difficult to replicate. Synthetic materials are not usually capable of simultaneously…
Under certain conditions, the dynamics of a nonlinear mechanical system can be represented by a single nonlinear modal oscillator. The properties of the modal oscillator can be determined by computational or experimental nonlinear modal…
Fibrous networks such as collagen are common in biological systems. Recent theoretical and experimental efforts have shed light on the mechanics of single component networks. Most real biopolymer networks, however, are composites made of…
We proposed an entangled multi-knot lattice model to explore the exotic statistics of anyon. This knot lattice model bears abelian and non-abelian anyons as well as integral and fractional filling states that is similar to quantum Hall…
Eukaryotic flagella are active structures with a complex architecture of microtubules, motor proteins and elastic links. They are capable of whiplike motions driven by motors sliding along filaments that are themselves constrained at an…
Type I collagen is the main component of the extra-cellular matrix (ECM). In vitro, under a narrow window of physico-chemical conditions, type I collagen self-assembles to form complex supramolecular architectures reminiscent of those found…
Mechanical forces generated by myosin II molecular motors drive diverse cellular processes, most notably shape change, division and locomotion. These forces may be transmitted over long range through the cytoskeletal medium - a disordered,…
Living cells are soft bodies of a characteristic form, but endowed with a capacity for a steady turnover of their structures. Both of these material properties, i.e. recovery of the shape after an external stress has been imposed and…
Keratin are among the most abundant proteins in epithelial cells. Functions of the keratin network in cells are shaped by their dynamical organization. Using a collection of experimentally-driven mathematical models, different hypotheses…
Actin and myosin drive many instances of force generation, deformation, and shape change in cells, tissues, and organisms. In particular, cytoskeletal actomyosin is remarkable in its adaptive architecture, responding to a host of…
Above a critical concentration a wide variety of peptides and proteins self-assemble into amyloid fibrils which entangle to form percolating networks called hydrogels. Such hydrogels have important applications as biomaterials and in…
Mechanochemical models of pattern formation in biological tissues have been used to study a variety of biomedical systems and describe the physical interactions between cells and their local surroundings. These models generally consist of a…
The mechanical properties of actin filaments are essential to their biological functions. Here, we introduce a highly coarse-grained model of actin filaments that preserves helicity and chirality while enabling mesoscale simulations. The…
Despite significant advances in understanding neuronal development, a fully quantitative framework that integrates intracellular mechanisms with environmental cues during axonal growth remains incomplete. Here, we present a unified…