2023/06/27 by Waleed Mirza, Mirza, Waleed, Marco De Corato +9
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Liquid Crystal Research Advancements #Micro and Nano Robotics #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2306.15352
openalex publication_date 2023/06/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The actin cytoskeleton is remarkably adaptable and multifunctional. It often organizes into nematic bundles such as contractile rings or stress fibers. However, how a uniform and isotropic actin gel self-organizes into dense nematic bundles is not fully understood. Here, using an active gel model accounting for nematic order and density variations, we identify an active patterning mechanism leading to localized dense nematic structures. Linear stability analysis and nonlinear finite element simulations establish the conditions for nematic bundle self-assembly and how active gel parameters control the architecture, orientation, connectivity and dynamics of self-organized patterns. Finally, we substantiate with discrete network simulations the main requirements for nematic bundle formation according to our theory, namely increased active tension perpendicular to the nematic direction and generalized active forces conjugate to nematic order. Our work portrays actin gels a reconfigurable active materials with a spontaneous tendency to develop patterns of dense nematic bundles.