Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 27: Physics of Cells III

BP 27.1: Invited Talk

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 14:00–14:30, ZEU 250

Inelastic Mechanics of Biopolymer Networks — •Klaus Kroy — Intstitut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Leipzig

Live cells have ambiguous mechanical properties. They were often described as either elastic solids or viscoelastic fluids and have recently been classified as soft glassy materials characterized by weak power-law rheology. Nonlinear rheological measurements have moreover revealed a pronounced inelastic response indicative of a competition between viscoelastic stiffening and inelastic fluidization. It is an intriguing question whether these observations can be explained from the material properties of much simpler in-vitro reconstituted networks of cytoskeletal biopolymers. I will summarize some recent theoretical advances in this direction.