生物物理
To explore the coupling between a growing population of microorganisms such as E. coli and a nonuniform nutrient distribution, we formulate a minimalistic model. It consists of active Brownian particles that divide and grow at a…
Melittin, a natural antimicrobial peptide comprising 26 amino acid residues, can kill bacteria by inducing pores in cell membranes. Clinical applications of melittin as an antibiotic require a thorough understanding of its poration…
The hydroxyl-terminated self-assembled monolayer (OH-SAM), as a surface resistant to protein adsorption, exhibits substantial potential in applications such as ship navigation and medical implants, and the appropriate strategies for…
Comparison of click chemistry and sortagging grafting strategies for functionalizing AGuIX nanoparticles with nanobodies to develop a tri-functional technology combining MRI imaging, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy by inhibiting immune…
Mosquito acoustic communication is studied for its singular and poorly-known in-flight hearing mechanism, for its efficiency in mechanical-to-acoustical power transduction, as well as for being the deadliest disease vector. A combined…
Active fluid transport is a hallmark of many biological transport networks. While animal circulatory systems generally rely on a single heart to drive flows, other organisms employ decentralized local pumps to distribute fluids and…
We optimized designs of permanent magnet systems to study the effect of magnetic nanoparticles on cell cultures in microslide channels. This produced two designs, one of which is based on a large cylindrical magnet that applies a uniform…
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are remarkable biomolecules that suppress ice formation at trace concentrations. To inhibit ice growth, AFPs must not only bind to ice crystals, but also resist engulfment by ice. The highest supercooling, $\Delta…
Maxwell defined a true or total current in a way not widely used today. He said "... true electric current ... is not the same thing as the current of conduction but that the time-variation of the electric displacement must be taken into…
The Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation is frequently used to explore the mechanics of the cochlea. As opposed to numerical strategies, the WKB approximation facilitates analysis of model results through interpretable closed-form…
Self-propelling organisms locomote via generation of patterns of self-deformation. Despite the diversity of body plans, internal actuation schemes and environments in limbless vertebrates and invertebrates, such organisms often use similar…
The life cycle of most marine invertebrates includes a planktonic larval stage before metamorphosis to bottom-dwelling adulthood. During larval stage, ciliary-mediated activity enables feeding (capture unicellular algae) and transport of…
Deciphering ion channel activity and signaling interactions within cells is one of the key tasks of neuroscience. Currently, measuring this electrophysiological activity is done using patch-clamp1-4 or voltage-sensitive imaging5-8.…
This PhD thesis is essentially the story of a scientific idea, from what it has blossomed, how it has grown, what it might become. My ambition in writing has been to produce an original, coherent and compact narrative. It begins (1) with a…
The conformational dynamics of single-stranded nucleic acids are fundamental for nucleic acid folding and function. However, their elementary chain dynamics have been difficult to resolve experimentally. Here we employ a combination of…
Actin filaments and microtubules both often form bundles of parallel filaments within cells. Here, we shed light on a universal attractive interaction between two such parallel filaments. Indeed, the electrodynamic Casimir interaction…
We compare three different setups for measuring cell-cell adhesion. We show that the measured strength depends on the type of setup that is used. For identical cells different assays measure different detachment forces. This can be…
Dorsal closure is a process that occurs during embryogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster. During dorsal closure, the amnioserosa (AS), a one-cell thick epithelial tissue that fills the dorsal opening, shrinks as the lateral epidermis sheets…
MicroGraphited-Diamond-Multi Electrode Arrays ({\mu}G-D-MEAs) can be successfully used to reveal, in real time, quantal exocytotic events occurring from many individual neurosecretory cells and/or from many neurons within a network. As…
The ability of eukaryotic cells to squeeze through constrictions is limited by the stiffness of their large and rigid nucleus. However, migrating cells are often able to overcome this limitation and pass through constrictions much smaller…