Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 18: Active Matter III (joint session BP/CPP/DY)
CPP 18.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 09:45–10:00, BAR/SCHÖ
Shape selectivity by complex buckling dynamics in poroelastic active gels — •Kinjal Dasbiswas1, Subhaya Bose1, Arnab Roy1, Michael Vennettilli1, and Anne Bernheim2 — 1University of California, Merced, USA — 2Ben Gurion University, Israel
Shape change in animal cells is prototypically driven by active forces, generated by myosin molecular motors bound to the actin cytoskeleton. Inspired by experiments on disc-shaped extracts of crosslinked actomyosin gels, we aim to show how a family of 3D shapes can arise from buckling caused by non-uniform active stresses. Although synthesized with identical composition of actin, myosin and the crossliker fascin, these gels contract and buckle into different shapes depending on the initial aspect ratio of the disc: thinner gels tend to wrinkle, while thicker gels tend to form domes. By incorporating active stresses, actin alignment, and stress-dependent myosin binding kinetics into a 2D poroelastic gel model, we qualitatively capture trends in gel contraction dynamics observed from quantitative particle image velocimetry (PIV). Next, we carry out numeric simulations of a geometric elastic model for thin sheets to obtain 3D buckled shapes from the strain rates predicted by the poroelastic model. Our results show that the coupling of elasticity to solvent flow, motor binding and fiber alignment play an important role in shape changes in living matter. Our studies have implications for shape changes during tissue morphogenesis and cell migration.
Keywords: active gel; cytoskeleton; geometric elasticity; poroelasticity; biopolymer networks