Related papers: Modeling collagen fibril degradation as a function…
Collagen, a key structural component of the extracellular matrix, undergoes significant remodeling during carcinogenesis. However, the important role of collagen levels in breast cancer diagnostics still lacks effective in vivo detection…
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…
Age-related bone loss and postmenopausal osteoporosis are disorders of bone remodelling, in which less bone is reformed than resorbed. Yet, this dysregulation of bone remodelling does not occur equally in all bone regions. Loss of bone is…
We study a cross-diffusion model for tissue regeneration which involves the dynamics of human mesenchymal stem cells interacting with chondrocytes in a medium containing a differentiation factor. The latter acts as a chemoattractant for the…
It is well established that amyloid fibril solubility is protein specific, but how solubility depends on the interactions between the fibril building blocks is not clear. Here we use a simple protein model and perform Monte Carlo…
Sacrificial bonds and hidden length (SBHL) in structural molecules provide a mechanism for energy dissipation at the nanoscale. It is hypothesized that their presence leads to greater fracture toughness than what is observed in materials…
The primary building block of the body is collagen, which is found in the extracellular matrix and in many stress-bearing tissues such as tendon and cartilage. It provides elasticity and support to cells and tissues while influencing…
A new class of micromechanically motivated chain network models for soft biological tissues is presented. On the microlevel, it is based on the statistics of long chain molecules. A wormlike chain model is applied to capture the behavior of…
This work presents a framework for modeling three-dimensional scaffold-mediated bone regeneration and the associated optimization problem. By incorporating microstructure into the model through periodic homogenization, we capture the…
Phase separation within polymer networks plays a central role in shaping the structure and mechanics of both synthetic materials and living cells, including the formation of biomolecular condensates within cytoskeletal networks. Previous…
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…
Many biological materials consist of sparse networks of disordered fibres, embedded in a soft elastic matrix. The interplay between rigid and soft elements in such composite networks leads to mechanical properties that can go far beyond the…
Cross-links are considered to be a key component of collagen fibrils as they can change the fibrillar behavior in various ways. Advanced-Glycation Endproducts (AGEs), one particular type of cross-links, have been shown to accumulate and…
This study reports a general scenario for the out-of-equilibrium features of collapsing polymeric architectures. We use molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the coarsening kinetics, in bad solvent, for several macromolecular…
The mechanical properties of collagen fibrils depend on the amount and the distribution of water molecules within the fibrils. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the effect of hydration on the viscoelastic properties of…
Irregular bone remodeling is associated with a number of bone diseases such as osteoporosis and multiple myeloma. Computational and mathematical modeling can aid in therapy and treatment as well as understanding fundamental biology.…
PROTACs are a promising therapeutic modality that harnesses the cell's built-in degradation machinery to degrade specific proteins. Despite their potential, developing new PROTACs is challenging and requires significant domain expertise,…
We study the enzymatic degradation of an elastic fiber under tension using an an isotropic random-walk model, coupled with binding-unbinding reactions that weaken the fiber. The fiber is represented by a chain of elastic springs in series,…
Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are two-phase composites with continuously changing microstructure adapted to performance requirements. Traditionally, the overall behavior of FGMs has been determined using local averaging techniques or…
Hearts subjected to volume overload (VO) are prone to detrimental anatomical and functional changes in response to elevated mechanical loading, ultimately leading to heart failure. Experimental findings now emphasize that organ-scale…