(289c) Mechanical Phase Transitions and Elastic Anomalies in Biopolymer Gels | AIChE

(289c) Mechanical Phase Transitions and Elastic Anomalies in Biopolymer Gels

Authors 

The mechanics of cells and tissues are largely governed by scaffolds of filamentous proteins that make up the cytoskeleton, as well as extracellular matrices. Evidence is emerging that such networks can exhibit rich mechanical phase behavior. A classic example of a mechanical phase transition was identified by Maxwell for macroscopic engineering structures: networks of struts or springs exhibit a continuous, second-order phase transition at the isostatic point, where the number of constraints imposed by connectivity just equals the number of mechanical degrees of freedom. We will present recent theoretical predictions and experimental evidence for mechanical phase transitions in biopolymer networks. We will also show that these networks can exhibit anomalous elastic properties, such as negative normal stress and large Poisson ratios, which are also governed by mechanical phase transitions.