Physikalisches Kolloquium: Festveranstal­tung zur Verleihung des Physik-Preis Dresden 2021

Veranstaltungseinladung als pdf-Download.

Programm:

• 16.40 Opening and laudatio (Prof. Dr. Frank Jülicher, MPIPKS Prof. Dr. Carsten Timm, TU Dresden)
• followed by: Talk by Prof. Gijsje Koenderink „The mechanical design of cells and tissues“

The mechanical design of cells and tissues

Gijsje Koenderink, Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology

Cells and tissues are highly dynamic but at the same time need to withstand large mechanical loads. This paradoxical mechanical behavior is governed by fibrous protein scaffolds known as the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix. Fibrous networks have many advantageous mechanical properties: fibers can form space-filling elastic networks at low volume fractions and they reversibly stress-stiffen, which provides protection from damage. However, it is still poorly understood how biopolymer networks can combine these features with the ability to dynamically adapt their structure and mechanics. This question has guided our research over the past years. I will provide an overview of the most important things we have learned by performing quantitative measurements on reconstituted cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix networks. We perform these measurements from the macroscopic scale (using rheology) all the way down to the molecular scale (using optical tweezers, in situ small-angle-X-ray scattering, and atomic force microscopy). I will furthermore mention connections to applications in bottom-up synthetic biology and for tissue (re)generation.