Chemical reaction to mechanical motion towards the physio-chemical model of heart cells.

生命系统是复杂的，以基因、蛋白质、化学反应和物理力的基本构件为基础。然而，在这种复杂性之外，细胞以惊人的健壮性和精确度协调数千个特定分子反应和相互作用的合作行动，以执行机械任务。例如，1000亿个心脏细胞可以同步它们的振荡来产生单一的脉冲。为了理解支配生命系统中合作过程的基本原理，发展对潜在的物理化学过程的理解至关重要，因为生命系统也受制于物理系统中的定律。这种内在的非平衡过程表明了开发仿生活性材料的方法，这种材料可以将化学能转化为机械能。在主动驱动下，这些材料可以表现出自主运动和自组织敲打等特性。该项目的目的是了解化学反应向机械反应转化的基本微观机制，并开发一个物理化学模型来研究相关生物系统中的同步化机制。我们将结合以下三种方法：1.对浸泡在电解液中的活性凝胶珠进行物理化学实验，并表征活性凝胶珠的幅度和频率。2.发展了分子动力学/蒙特卡罗(MD/MC)混合模拟方法，用于研究渗透压与活性凝胶动力学行为相互作用的微观机理。3.利用1)和2)中得到的微观认识，建立相关生物系统的物理化学模型。这种将反应的化学振荡转化为凝胶中的机械变化的化学-机械系统可以导致用于药物运输和机械辅助目的的智能仿生凝胶的开发。

Living systems are complex, and are based on the basic building blocks of genes, proteins, chemical reactions, and physical forces. Yet, out of this complexity, with remarkable robustness and precision, cells orchestrate the cooperative action of thousands of specific molecular reactions and interactions to carry out mechanical tasks. For example, 100 billion heart cells can synchronise their oscillation to generate a single pulse. To understand the fundamental principles that govern cooperative processes in living systems, it is of critical importance to develop an understanding of the underlying physio-chemical processes, because living systems are also subject to laws in physical systems. Such inherently non-equilibrium processes suggest approaches for developing biomimetic active materials which can transform chemical energy to mechanical energy. Being actively driven, these materials can exhibit properties such as autonomous motility and self-organised beating. The aim of this project is to understand the fundamental microscopic mechanism of the transformation from chemical to mechanical reactions, and develop a physio-chemical model to study the mechanism of the synchronisation in relevant biological systems. We will combine the following three approaches; 1. Perform physical chemical experiments with active gel beads immersed in an electrolyte solution, and characterize the amplitude and frequency of the active gel beads. 2. Develop a hybrid molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo (MD/MC) simulation method to understand the microscopic mechanisms of the interplay between osmotic pressure and dynamical behavior of active gels. 3. Develop the physio-chemical model of relevant biological systems, using the obtained microscopic understanding from 1) and 2). Such chemo-mechanical systems to convert chemical oscillation of the reaction to mechanical changes in gels can lead to development of smart biomimetic gels for drug transportation and mechanical assistance purposes.