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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 28: Poster Session II

BP 28.51: Poster

Donnerstag, 30. März 2023, 18:00–20:00, P2/EG

Reconstituting a polymer hydrogel that mimics intracellular viscoelastic properties — •Dorian Marx, Bart Vos, and Timo Betz — 3. Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Georg-August-University Göttingen

Throughout the years numerous models were developed that describe the mechanical response of cells to deformations. However, all models, both classic and modern, are phenomenological, that is, they lack a connection of their parameters to the real physical system, making them hard to interpret. Furthermore, the strongest argument for a particular model so far is how accurately it matches to measurements. While this is fine on a phenomenological level, a deeper understanding, e. g. why it fits, is missing. This also holds for the fractional Kelvin-Voigt model (fKVM) that is composed of two complex power-laws and was shown to fit a range of different cells very well.

To connect the fit parameters of the fKVM to the physical system we opt for a bottom-up approach by using a passive viscoelastic polymer with constituents that have analogs in cells. After confirming that the fKVM accurately fits this system, we focus on finding "the most cell-like" parameter set. Varying the composition of the gel (e. g. via the cross-linker concentration) allows us to directly connect properties of the physical system to model parameters. With this, we are now able to formulate hypotheses that can be checked in live cells, giving a quantitative handle for connecting the real world biophysics to rheological models.