arXiv subjects

Jose E. Andrade

Publications and source records attributed to Jose E. Andrade.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Tensegrity structures and data-driven analysis for 3d cell mechanics

The cytoskeleton (CSK) plays an important role in many cell functions. Given the similarities between the mechanical behavior of tensegrity structures and the CSK, many studies have proposed different tensegrity-based models for simulating cell mechanics. However, the low symmetry of most tensegrity units has hindered the analysis of realistic 3D structures. As a result, tensegrity-based modeling in cell mechanics has been mainly focused on single cells or monolayers. In this paper, we propose a 3D tensegrity model based on the finite element method for simulating 3D cell mechanics. We show that the proposed model not only captures the nonlinearity of a single cell in an indentation test and a monolayer in stretch test but also the non-uniform stress distribution in multicellular spheroids upon non-uniform prestress design. Furthermore, we introduce a multiscale data-driven framework for cellular mechanics to optimize the computation, thus paving the way for modeling the mechanobiology of large cellular assemblies such as organs.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Mechanical basis and topological routes to cell elimination

Cell layers eliminate unwanted cells through the extrusion process, which underlines healthy versus flawed tissue behaviors. Although several biochemical pathways have been identified, the underlying mechanical basis including the forces involved in cellular extrusion remain largely unexplored. Utilizing a phase-field model of a three-dimensional cell layer, we study the interplay of cell extrusion with cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions, in a flat monolayer. Independent tuning of cell-cell versus cell-substrate adhesion forces reveals that extrusion events can be distinctly linked to defects in nematic and hexatic orders associated with cellular arrangements. Specifically, we show that by increasing relative cell-cell adhesion forces the cell monolayer can switch between the collective tendency towards five-fold, hexatic, disclinations relative to half-integer, nematic, defects for extruding a cell. We unify our findings by accessing three-dimensional mechanical stress fields to show that an extrusion event acts as a mechanism to relieve localized stress concentration.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Stress percolation criticality of glass to fluid transition in active cell layers

Using three-dimensional representation of confluent cell layers, we map the amorphous solid to fluid phase transition in active cell layers onto the two-dimensional (2D) site percolation universality class. Importantly, we unify two distinct, predominant, pathways associated with this transition; namely (i) cell-cell adhesion and (ii) active traction forces. For each pathway, we independently vary the corresponding control parameter and focus on the emergent mechanical stress patterns as the monolayer transitions from a glassy- to a fluid-like state. Through finite-size scaling analyses, our results lead us to establish the glassy- to fluid-like transition as a critical phenomena in terms of stress development in the cell layer and show that the associated criticality belongs to the 2D site percolation universality class. Our findings offer a fresh perspective on solid (glass-like) to fluid phase transition in active cell layers and can bridge our understanding of glassy behaviors in active matter with potential implications in biological processes such as wound healing, development, and cancer progression.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2020

The Effect of Confinement on Capillary Phase Transition In Granular Aggregates

Utilizing a 3D mean-field lattice-gas model, we analyze the effect of confinement on the nature of capillary phase transition in granular aggregates with varying disorder and their inverse porous structures obtained by interchanging particles and pores. Surprisingly, the confinement effects are found to be much less pronounced in granular aggregates as opposed to porous structures. We show that this discrepancy can be understood in terms of the surface-surface correlation length with a connected path through the fluid domain, suggesting that this length captures the true degree of confinement. We also find that the liquid-gas phase transition in these porous materials is of second order nature near capillary critical temperature, which is shown to represent a true critical temperature, i.e. independent of the degree of disorder and the nature of solid matrix, discrete or continuous. The critical exponents estimated here from finite-size scaling analysis suggest that this transition belongs to the 3D random field Ising model universality class as hypothesized by P.G. de Gennes, with the underlying random fields induced by local disorder in fluid-solid interactions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗