The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels

Details The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels

2008-07-17

arxiv.org/abs/0807.2805v2

Physics

Condensed Matter

Soft Condensed Matter

Scientific paper

We study the micromechanics of collagen-I gel with the goal of bridging the gap between theory and experiment in the study of biopolymer networks. Three-dimensional images of fluorescently labeled collagen are obtained by confocal microscopy and the network geometry is extracted using a 3d network skeletonization algorithm. Each fiber is modeled as a worm-like-chain that resists stretching and bending, and each cross-link is modeled as torsional spring. The stress-strain curves of networks at three different densities are compared to rheology measurements. The model shows good agreement with experiment, confirming that strain stiffening of collagen can be explained entirely by geometric realignment of the network, as opposed to entropic stiffening of individual fibers. The model also suggests that at small strains, cross-link deformation is the main contributer to network stiffness whereas at large strains, fiber stretching dominates. Since this modeling effort uses networks with realistic geometries, this analysis can ultimately serve as a tool for understanding how the mechanics of fibers and cross-links at the microscopic level produce the macroscopic properties of the network. While the focus of this paper is on the mechanics of collagen, we demonstrate a framework that can be applied to many biopolymer networks.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Micromechanics of Three Dimensional Collagen-I Gels will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-42610