Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Mariana Oshima Menegon
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI) |
| Defense date: | 2015-07-30 |
| Examining board members: |
Adriano Mesquita Alencar;
Oscar Nassif de Mesquita;
Mario Jose de Oliveira
|
| Advisor: | Adriano Mesquita Alencar |
| Abstract | |
An outstanding problem of cellular mechanics is how to relate changes on the cytoskeleton which result in modifications of the viscoelastic properties of the cells. The proposal of this work is to understand the mechanical behavior of actin fibers, the major component of cytoskeleton, by means of experiments and development of a computational model that describe it, in an attempt to understand the microscopic origins of the viscoelasticity of F-actin networks. In this context, extensive scientific literature has focused on models of specific behaviors of the cytoskeleton fibers, specifically on actin filaments. However, the global question related to the cellular level remains open. In vitro actin solutions experiments were the starting point to study the mechanical behavior of the fibers. The produced experimental data was the gold standard to the numerical models that was developed to simulate the viscoelastic properties of the actin network. Thus, we built an experimental and computational framework to study the mechanical properties of the cytoskeleton, by the means of its most abundant component. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 13/08342-8 - Rheological characterization of actin polymeric networks: measurement and numerical modeling |
| Grantee: | Mariana Oshima Menegon |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |