Description
The physical properties of a cell, such as stiffness and elasticity, are primarily governed by its cytoskeleton which is mainly made of three filament types. One these is intermediate filaments, which have recently gained interest because of their remarkable mechanical properties, exceptional stiffness at large deformations and elasticity on the other hand. They form a dynamic network that can break and reassemble. While historically their assembly was attributed to polymerization kinetics as is the case for actin and microtubules, recent evidence suggests liquid-liquid phase separation plays a central role.
This project investigates how phase separation dynamics give rise to network-like structures through numerical simulations of a 2D Cahn-Hilliard based active phase field model. The proposed model creates elongated structures from droplets that are reminiscent of those in passive Cahn-Hilliard dynamics. Over time these structures connect to a network of fixed filament width with breaking and reconnecting mechanisms.
This minimal yet physically grounded model suggests that phase separation with activity is sufficient to recapitulate key morphological features of intermediate filament self-assembly.
| Field of study | Physics of Complex Systems |
|---|---|
| Supervisor | Amin Doostmohammadi |