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

生物凝胶在生物系统功能中的重要性得到了越来越多的认识，但很少有理论工作来理解它们的行为。数学非常适合于理清决定生物凝胶结构和功能的多种力(机械、电化学和生物化学)之间的相互作用。研究人员使用数学工具探索了四个密切相关的生物凝胶生长和动力学问题，重点是图案形成机制以及图案和功能之间的关系。这四个问题是生物膜和血液凝块的形成和功能，胃的保护，以及生物凝胶与流动流体接触的行为。开发模型是为了了解粘弹性本构特性和凝胶形态等物理特性是如何确定和控制的，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、离散、各向同性、各向异性)来研究凝胶在不同尺度上的生长和动力学，同时尝试纳入实验已知的内容，并扩展关于特定生物凝胶系统的实验数据库。生物凝胶是水、丝状蛋白质网络和其他化学物质的复合体，越来越多地被认为对许多生物系统的功能具有深远的影响。这些生物凝胶发挥主要作用的重要生物学环境包括血液凝块的形成、难以治疗的细菌感染以及胃壁的适当保护功能。进一步了解生物凝胶是如何形成的，以及它们的性质是如何受到调控的，这对于理解这些重要的过程以及如何操纵它们以改善人类健康至关重要。由于生物凝胶的形成和调节受物理和化学性质的支配，而且这些性质可以用数学来表示，所以可以用数学工具来解决这些问题。通过对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，与传统的实验室实验数据相辅相成。因此，数学和实验研究人员在这个项目中的结合有望带来对生物凝胶行为的重要新见解。该项目包括数学家、生物工程师和生物学家，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.