Title

Substrate Rigidity Deforms and Polarizes Active Gels

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Shiladitya Banerjee, Syracuse UniversityFollow
M. C. Marchetti, Syracuse University

Document Type

Article

Date

8-29-2011

Keywords

condensed matter, soft condensed matter, cell behavior

Language

English

Disciplines

Physics

Description/Abstract

We present a continuum model of the coupling between cells and substrate that accounts for some of the observed substrate-stiffness dependence of cell properties. The cell is modeled as an elastic active gel, adapting recently developed continuum theories of active viscoelastic fluids. The coupling to the substrate enters as a boundary condition that relates the cell's deformation field to local stress gradients. In the presence of activity, the coupling to the substrate yields spatially inhomogeneous contractile stresses and deformations in the cell and can enhance polarization, breaking the cell's front-rear symmetry.

Additional Information

This manuscript is from arXiv.org, there is further information at http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.0929

Recommended Citation

arXiv:1106.0929v2

Source

harvested from arXiv.org

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.