Mechanics of Filament Network

Tarun Meena(08D10048)

Introduction
Deformation of the cells are dictated by their

mechanical behavior under loading Critical component which is governing the mechanical behavior is actin cytoskeleton In this thesis filament network has been idealized as 2-D network in Abaqus Behavior of the Network is analyzed due to finite displacement in vertical direction Effect of the variation in basic parameters like density and length of the fiber has been discussed

The F-Actin Network

The cytoskeleton is a cellular scaffolding or skeleton for

cells. The cytoskeleton is an organized network of three primary protein filaments

Microtube Actin Filaments Intermediate fibers

Continued
F-actin filament plays an important role in the

mechanical behavior of the network Some Functions of the F-actin are as follows
Provides mechanical strength to the cell Generate locomotion in cells Links transmemberane proteins to cytoplasmic

Cross linked F-actin Network

In the cytoskeleton, the local microstructure and

connectivity of F-actin is controlled by actin binding proteins. The binding proteins control the organization of Factin into mesh like gels, branched network etc. Cross-links have a compliance that depends on their detailed molecular structure and determines network mechanical response.

Existing Models
Deformation of Cross-Linked Semiflexible Networks (F.C.Mackintosh,2003) It is a simple model of cross-linked rods It is assumed that the deformation field is affine(Strain is

uniform)

Through the analysis it is found that network become

increasingly affine down to the smallest scale of the network e.g. mesh size, cross link density etc.

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Model was studied for dependence of the bulk shear

modulus on the
Cross link density Bending and Extension of the individual filament

Elasticity of Stiff polymer network Model is about the elasticity of two-dimensional network of rigid rods Essential features of this model are

Anisotropic elasticity of the rods Random geometry of the network

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Typical networks at high density and low density

The random network was generated by placing N line

like objects of equal length l and area L2 It was observed that shear modulus scales vary linearly with filament compressional modulus and no. of filaments per unit area.

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Elasticity of Planar Network In this model wool assembly was treated as a layered system with fiber bending deflection In the model, only fiber axial deformation was considered

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It was observed in the model that effective stiffness of

planar random Filament Network increase with the increase of arial density, which can be measured by the number of fibers per unit area The model account for microscopic deformation of fiber segments of all possible lengths and orientations The constitutive relation is derived is as follows
Where,

Modeling and analysis

Finite Element Analysis Powerful computational technique for approximate solution to a variety of engineering problems This method is used to solve a modelling problem by dividing the solution domain into discrete regions, these are the finite elements Finite element modelling provides a simply cost effective way of monitoring and predicting situations that occurs in any sphere of engineering, medicine, aeronautics etc.

ABAQUS Finite Modelling and analysis

FEM packages such as ABAQUS is a very useful

program as it allows for the material, geometric, and boundary conditions to be set and adjusted as information becomes apparent
The result of model such as stress vs strain curves,

pressure displacement diagram has a short run over time in ABAQUS

Assumptions made in model

In order to simplify and practically model the system

some assumption are taken, are as follows

The fibers are straight and oriented in the same plane The fibers are randomly distributed and of same lengths Total Elasticity of the network is dependent on the elasticity of filaments Effect of medium, in which fiber networks, is being assumed negligible The fiber elasticity used is 2x10^11 N/mm^2 and possions ratio to be 0.3 ,which are arbitrary properties of the fiber

Random Network Formulation

A 2-D Fiber network defined as a set of independently

short line segments are placed. Fibers of same length and orientation has been place Network has been idealised as mixture of 2-D beam element of diameter 1mm. Any two intersection beams are joined at their intersections. In the Network at y=0 hinge and roller boundary conditions have been applied and at y=20mm displacement has been applied.

Continued
For different value of displacements the corresponding

reaction force has been calculated Model of the Network with vertical displacement and support condition

Continued
The model is analyzed using static linear analysis

procedure The reaction is obtained on the upper surface of the network are summed up to the total reaction force, RF2 in y-direction Elastic modulus of elasticity can be calculated as follows Ec = (RF2/A)/(disp/L)

Results and Discussion

Comparison of Beam element B21 and B23 B23 is an Euler-Bernoulli beam, a 2 node cubic beam in plane It does not allow transverse shear deformation i.e. plane sections initially normal remain plane While B21 beam is a Timoshenko beam and they allow transverse shear deformation, a 2 node linear beam in plane The model is analyzed for both the beam elements for comparison purpose The comparative plot of Force-Displacement for both of the beam elements is as follows

Continued

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From the plot it can be seen that results are almost

same i.e. But as in the model we are considering fiber which is slender, i.e. the beams cross-sectional dimensions should be small compared to typical distances along its axis, that comply with the B23 beam element
Therefore, it would be more suitable to use B23 beam

element than B21 in modelling

Effect of variation in density on the elasticity of the network

To study the effect of variation in density, we created

two models of different density of fibers under same loading condition We keep length of the fiber and orientation same Low density Network and its deformed shape

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Relatively High Density network and its deformed

shape

The Stress-Strain curve for both of the network is as

follows

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Elasticity for Low Density network=6.81E+10 N/mm2 Elasticity for High Density Network=1.20E+11 N/mm2

It can be clearly seen that the Elasticity of the network

increases with increase in the density of the Network which comply the power law E= C(-ref ) (R.Y. Kwon, 2008) where is the volume(density), validating the above result.

Effect of variation in Fiber length on Elasticity of the network

To study the effect of variation in length two different

models of different fiber length of 10mm and 15mm,keeping the orientation same has been created In the model orientation of fibers and loading condition has been kept same Network and its deformed shape for fiber length of10mm

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Network and its deformed shape for fiber length of 15mm

The plot for displacement Vs Force is as follow for both of

the Model

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Elasticity in the case of fiber of 10mm length is found

to be 6.81E+10 N/mm2 and in the case of network of fibers of 15 mm length is found to be 1E+11 N/mm2 The result suggests that Length of the fiber plays a significant role in the morphology of the network structure or the linear elasticity.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoskeleton ABAQUS CAE documentation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://abaqus.civil.uwa.edu.au:2080/v6.9/ Abed, G. (2010). COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS TOWARDS IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOMECHANICS OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. David A. Head, A. J. (2003). Deformation of Cross-Linked Semiflexible Polymer Networks. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS , 91 (10), 108102. F. C. MacKintosh, J. K. (1995). Elasticity of Semiflexible Biopolymer Networks. P. A. Janmey , 75 (24). Frey, J. W. (2008). Elasticity of Stiff Polymer Networks. G. A. Buxton, N. C. (2009). Actin dynamics and the elasticity of cytoskeletal networks. eXPRESS Polymer Letters Vol.3, No.9 , 579-587. Gardel, M. L. (2004). Elasticity of F-actin Networks.

Jeffrey S. Palmer, M. C. (2008). Constitutive modeling of the stressstrain behavior of F-actin filament networks. Actabiomaterialia , 4, 597612.

Jonathan Stricker, T. F. (2010). Mechanics of the F-actin cytoskeleton.

Journal of Biomechanics , 43, 914. Madenci, E. (2005). The Finite Element Method and Applications in Engineering Using ANSYS (1st ed.). Springer. Margaret L. Gardel, *. K. (2008). Mechanical Response of Cytoskeletal Networks. In M. L. Gardel, METHODS IN CELL BIOLOGY (Vol. 89, pp. 487-519). R.Y. Kwon, A. L. (2008). A microstructurally informed model for the mechanical response of three-dimensional actin networks. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering , 11 (4), 407418. Risler, T. (2011). Cytoskeleton and Cell Motility. X.-F. Wu, Y. A. (2005). Elasticity of planar fiber networks. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS , 98, 093501.

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