Related papers: Patterning of multicomponent elastic shells by Gau…
Several cellular activities, such as directed cell migration, are coordinated by an intricate network of biochemical reactions which lead to a polarised state of the cell, in which cellular symmetry is broken, causing the cell to have a…
As a granular material is compressed, the particles and forces within the system arrange to form complex heterogeneous structures. Force chains are a prime example and are thought to constrain bulk properties such as mechanical stability…
Thermosensitive microgels are widely studied hybrid systems combining properties of polymers and colloidal particles in a unique way. Due to their complex morphology their interactions and packing, and consequentially the viscoelastcity of…
The microscopic structure of several amorphous substances often reveals complex patterns such as medium- or long-range order, spatial heterogeneity, and even local polycrystallinity. To capture all these features, models usually incorporate…
We numerically investigate the hydrodynamics and membrane dynamics of multicomponent vesicles in two strongly confined geometries. This serves as a simplified model for red blood cells undergoing large deformations while traversing narrow…
Thin-walled structures clamped by friction joints, such as aircraft skin panels are exposed to bending-stretching coupling and frictional contact. We propose an original sub-structuring approach, where the system is divided into thin-walled…
Experimentally measuring the elastic properties of thin biological surfaces is non-trivial, particularly when they are curved. One technique that may be used is the indentation of a thin sheet of material by a rigid indenter, whilst…
Predicting the alignment of non-spherical particles in dense granular flows under shear remains a central challenge in soft matter physics. We demonstrate that the first-order behavior of granular fabric,the anisotropic distribution of…
Under dehydration conditions, amphipathic Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins fold spontaneously from a random conformation into alpha-helical structures and this transition is promoted by the presence of membranes. To gain insight…
The proper sorting of membrane components by regulated exchange between cellular organelles is crucial to intra-cellular organisation. This process relies on the budding and fusion of transport vesicles, and should be strongly influenced by…
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…
Cells are defined by lipid membranes that differ in their structure across the tree of life. While the membranes of most bacteria and eukaryotes consist of single-headed bilayer lipids, the membranes of archaea are composed of mixtures of…
Using cyclic shear to drive a two dimensional granular system, we determine the structural characteristics for different inter-particle friction coefficients. These characteristics are the result of a competition between mechanical…
Cell spreading and motility on an adhesive substrate are driven by the active physical forces generated by the actin cytoskeleton. We have recently shown that coupling curved membrane complexes to protrusive forces, exerted by the actin…
The self-assembly of polyhedral shells, each constructed from 60 trapezoidal particles, is simulated using molecular dynamics. The spatial organization of the component particles in this shell is similar to the capsomer proteins forming the…
The effect of conformational fluctuations of modular macromolecules, such as enzymes, on their diffusion properties is addressed using a simple generic model of an asymmetric dumbbell made of two hydrodynamically coupled subunits. It is…
A prime example of non-equilibrium or active environment is a biological cell. In order to understand in-vivo functioning of biomolecules such as proteins, chromatins, a description beyond equilibrium is absolutely necessary. In this…
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…
Accurately predicting friction in sliding interfaces that contain third body wear particles is critical for engineering applications such as sliding movement in pistons, bearings, or metal forming. We present a hierarchical multiscale…
The formation of quasi-spherical cages from protein building blocks is a remarkable self-assembly process in many natural systems, where a small number of elementary building blocks are assembled to build a highly symmetric icosahedral…