A5101492127- Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
- Blood properties and coagulation
- DNA Repair Mechanisms
- BIM and Construction Integration
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Hemoglobin structure and function
- Graphene research and applications
- Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Spaceflight effects on biology
- Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication
- Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Manufacturing Process and Optimization
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
University of San Diego
2020-2022
Microtubules enable organized myosin-driven contraction by providing flexural rigidity and enhanced connectivity to actin networks.
The precursor material to graphene aerogels is a hydrogel formed from an aqueous solution of oxide. We investigate the time evolution physical and chemical properties oxide suspension as it transitions hydrogel. Fully hydrogels undergo densification during reaction, forming mechanically stable monoliths. demonstrate that gelation process removes oxygen functional groups, partially re-forms sp2 network, creates bonds between sheets. Furthermore, these changes occur on exactly same scale,...
Differential dynamic microscopy, image autocorrelation, and mechanistic modeling show that actomyosin–microtubule composites exhibit tunable ballistic contraction restructuring with microtubules enabling emergent sustained controlled dynamics.
The composite cytoskeleton, comprising interacting networks of semiflexible actin and rigid microtubules, actively generates forces restructures using motor proteins such as myosins to enable key mechanical processes including cell motility mitosis. Yet, how motor-driven activity alters the mechanics cytoskeleton composites remains an open challenge. Here, we perform optical tweezers microrheology on actin-microtubule driven by myosin II motors show that increases linear viscoelasticity...
Cells can crawl, self-heal, and tune their stiffness due to remarkably dynamic cytoskeleton. As such, reconstituting networks of cytoskeletal biopolymers may lead a host active adaptable materials. However, engineering such materials with precisely tuned properties requires measuring how the dynamics depend on network composition synthesis methods. Quantifying is challenged by variations across time, space, formulation space composite networks. The protocol here describes Fourier analysis...
Abstract The cytoskeleton is a dynamic network of proteins, including actin, microtubules, and myosin, that enables essential cellular processes such as motility, division, mechanosensing, growth. While actomyosin networks are extensively studied, how interactions between actin ubiquitous in the cytoskeleton, influence activity remains an open question. Here, we create co-entangled microtubules driven by myosin II. We combine differential microscopy, particle image velocimetry...
The cytoskeleton is a model active matter system that controls diverse cellular processes from division to motility. While both actomyosin dynamics and actin-microtubule interactions are key the cytoskeleton’s versatility adaptability, an understanding of their interplay lacking. Here, we couple microscale experiments with mechanistic modeling elucidate how connectivity, rigidity, force-generation affect emergent material properties in vitro composites actin, tubulin, myosin. We use...
The composite cytoskeleton, comprising interacting networks of semiflexible actin filaments and rigid microtubules, restructures generates forces using motor proteins such as myosin II kinesin to drive key processes migration, cytokinesis, adhesion, mechanosensing. While actin-microtubule interactions are the cytoskeleton's versatility adaptability, an understanding their interplay with activity is still nascent. This work describes how engineer tunable three-dimensional co-entangled...
The composite cytoskeleton, comprising interacting networks of semiflexible actin filaments and rigid microtubules, restructures generates forces using motor proteins such as myosin II kinesin to drive key processes migration, cytokinesis, adhesion, mechanosensing. While actin-microtubule interactions are the cytoskeleton's versatility adaptability, an understanding their interplay with activity is still nascent. This work describes how engineer tunable three-dimensional co-entangled...