Focused Research Groups (FRG): The Dynamics of Growing Biogels

人们越来越认识到生物凝胶在生物系统功能中的重要性，但很少有理论工作来理解它们的行为。数学非常适合于整理决定生物凝胶结构和功能的许多力（机械的、电化学的和生化的）之间的相互作用。研究人员利用数学工具探讨了生物凝胶生长和动力学的四个密切相关的问题，重点是模式形成机制以及模式与功能之间的关系。这四个问题是生物膜和血凝块的形成和功能，胃对胃的保护，以及生物凝胶与流动液体接触的行为。开发模型来了解如何确定和控制物理特性，如粘弹性本构特性和凝胶形态，以及这些特性如何影响生物凝胶的生物功能。研究人员使用分析和计算工具，使用各种模型（连续的、离散的、各向同性的、各向异性的）在不同的尺度上检查凝胶生长和动力学，同时试图结合已知的实验结果，并扩展特定生物凝胶系统的实验数据库。生物凝胶是由水、丝状蛋白网络和其他化学物质组成的复合物，对许多生物系统的功能有着深远的影响。这些生物凝胶发挥重要作用的重要生物环境包括血凝块形成、难以治疗的细菌感染和胃粘膜的适当保护功能。更好地理解生物凝胶是如何形成的以及它们的特性是如何被调节的，对于理解这些重要的过程以及如何操纵它们来改善人类健康是至关重要的。因为生物凝胶的形成和调节是由物理和化学性质决定的，因为这些性质可以用数学来表示，所以数学工具可以用来解决这些问题。通过生物凝胶的数学分析和计算模拟，可以获得丰富的详细数据，补充了传统实验室实验中可获得的数据。因此，在这个项目中，数学和实验研究者的结合有望带来关于生物凝胶行为的重要新见解。该项目包括数学家、一名生物工程师和一名生物学家，并为学生和博士后提供跨学科研究和培训机会。

The importance of biogels in the function of biologicalsystems is increasingly recognized, yet little theoretical workhas been done to understand their behavior. Mathematics iswell-suited to sorting out the interplay among the many forces(mechanical, electrochemical, and biochemical) that determinebiogel structure and function. The investigators usemathematical tools to explore four closely related problems ofbiogel growth and dynamics, with an emphasis on pattern-formingmechanisms and the relationship between pattern and function.The four problems are biofilm and blood clot formation andfunction, gastric protection of the stomach, and the behavior ofbiogels in contact with a moving fluid. Models are developed tounderstand how physical properties such as the viscoelasticconstitutive properties and the gel morphology are determined andcontrolled, and how these properties affect the biologicalfunction of the biogel. The investigators use analytical andcomputational tools to examine gel growth and dynamics ondifferent scales using various models (continuum, discrete,isotropic, anisotropic), while attempting to incorporate what isknown experimentally, and to expand the experimental databaseabout specific biogel systems. Biogels are composites of water, filamentous proteinnetworks, and other chemicals, and are increasingly recognized ashaving profound influence on the function of many biologicalsystems. Important biological settings in which these biogelsplay a major role include blood clot formation,difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, and the properprotective functioning of the stomach lining. Improvedunderstanding of how biogels are formed and how their propertiesare regulated is critical to understanding these importantprocesses and how they can be manipulated to improve humanhealth. Because the formation and regulation of biogels isgoverned by physical and chemical properties and because theseproperties can be expressed mathematically, mathematical toolscan be brought to bear on these problems. Through mathematicalanalysis and computational simulations of biogels, a wealth ofdetailed data can be obtained that complements the dataobtainable from traditional laboratory experiments. Hence thecombination of mathematical and experimental investigatorsbrought together in this project is expected to lead to importantnew insights about biogel behavior. The project includesmathematicians, a bioengineer, and a biologist, and providesinterdisciplinary research and training opportunities forstudents and postdocs.