Living systems provide a paradigmatic example of active soft matter. Cells and tissues
comprise viscoelastic materials that exert forces and can actively change shape. This …

In contrast to most synthetic hydrogels, biological gels are made of fibrous networks. This
architecture gives rise to unique properties, like low concentration, high porosity gels with a …

Cytoskeletal pattern formation and structural dynamics are key to a variety of biological
functions and a detailed and quantitative analysis yields insight into finely tuned and well …

We present theoretical and experimental studies of the elastic response of fibrous networks
subjected to uniaxial strain. Uniaxial compression or extension is applied to extracellular …

Networks with only central force interactions are floppy when their average connectivity is
below an isostatic threshold. Although such networks are mechanically unstable, they can …

Athermal models of disordered fibrous networks are highly useful for studying the mechanics
of elastic networks composed of stiff biopolymers. The underlying network architecture is a …

Cardiomyocyte and stroma cell cross-talk is essential for the formation of collagen-based
engineered heart muscle, including engineered human myocardium (EHM). Fibroblasts are …

We use optical tweezers microrheology and fluorescence microscopy to characterize the
nonlinear mesoscale mechanics and mobility of in vitro co-entangled actin-microtubule …

Polymeric networks are ubiquitous in biology and are vital components to some of the key
functions of life. Composite networks of stiff and flexible polymers such as the actin-filamin …

Naturally occurring biopolymers such as collagen and actin form branched fibrous networks.
The average connectivity in branched networks is generally below the isostatic threshold at …