Related papers: Mechanical model for a collagen fibril pair in ext…
Contractile biopolymer networks, such as the actomyosin meshwork of animal cells, are ubiquitous in living organisms. The active gel theory, which provides the thermodynamic framework for these materials, has been mostly used in conjunction…
Modulating extracellular matrix (ECM) elasticity with fibrillar collagen offers great potential for regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and disease modeling by replicating invivo mechanical signals. This enhances understanding of…
Neuronal and glial cells release diverse proteoglycans and glycoproteins, which aggregate in the extracellular space and form the extracellular matrix (ECM) that may in turn regulate major cellular functions. Brain cells also release…
Recent studies in mammalian hearts show that left ventricular wall thickening is an important mechanism for systolic ejection and that during contraction the cardiac muscle develops significant stresses in the muscular cross-fiber…
The Extra-Cellular-Matrix (ECM) is a complex interconnected 3D network that provides structural support for the cells and tissues and defines organ architecture key for their healthy functioning. However, the intimate mechanisms by which…
Collagen is the key protein of connective tissue (i.e., skin, tendons and ligaments, cartilage, among others) accounting for 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content, and entitled of conferring mechanical stability. This protein is also…
We expose first a biological model of memory based on one hand of the mechanical oscillations of axons during action potential and on the other hand on the changes in the extra cellular matrix composition when a mechanical strain is applied…
We present a micro-structurally based finite element model of the human cornea, where we explicitly describe the collagen-crosslink architecture in terms of a trusswork of non-linear struts, and the extracellular proteoglycan matrix in…
Collagen fibrils are versatile self-assembled structures that provide mechanical integrity within mammalian tissues. The radius of collagen fibrils vary widely depending on experimental conditions \textit{in vitro} or anatomical location…
In vitro cultures of endothelial cells are a widely used model system of the collective behavior of endothelial cells during vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. When seeded in an extracellular matrix, endothelial cells can form blood…
Collagen fibrils, when subjected to cyclic loading, are known to exhibit hysteretic behaviour with energy dissipation that is partially recovered on relaxation. In this paper, we develop a kinetic model for a collagen fibril incorporating…
The purpose of this study was to report numerical validation of a 3D finite element model of contracting muscle. The model was based on continuum theory for fibre-reinforced composite materials. Here we simulated contractions for an…
Computer simulations can aid in understanding how collective materials properties emerge from interactions between simple constituents. Here, we introduce a coarse-grained model that enables simulation of networks of actin filaments, myosin…
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a highly complex structure through which biochemical and mechanical signals are transmitted. In processes of cell migration, the ECM also acts as a scaffold, providing structural support to cells as well as…
Collagen is a key structural protein in the human body, which undergoes mineralization during the formation of hard tissues. Earlier studies have described the mechanical behavior of bone at different scales highlighting material features…
The hysteretic behavior exhibited by collagen fibrils, when subjected to cyclic loading, is known to result in both dissipation as well as accumulation of residual strain. On subsequent relaxation, partial recovery has also been reported.…
Cell crawling requires the generation of intracellular forces by the cytoskeleton and their transmission to an extracellular substrate through specific adhesion molecules. Crawling cells show many features of excitable systems, such as…
State of the art research and treatment of biological tissues require accurate and efficient methods for describing their mechanical properties. Indeed, micromechanics motivated approaches provide a systematic method for elevating relevant…
We study the two-filament insulin fibril's structure by incorporating recent simulation results and mechanical measurements. Our investigation suggests that the persistence length measurement correlates well with the previously proposed…
Biological cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, but how such a mechanosensing proccess takes place in a nonlinear inhomogeneous fibrous matrix remains unknown. We show that cells in a fibrous matrix induce deformation fields that…