Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Jul 20;424(1):89-93. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.06.072. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
Microtubules in living cells are very important component for various cellular functions as well as to maintain the cell shape. Mechanical properties of microtubules play a vital role in their functions and structure. To understand the mechanical properties of microtubules in living cells, we developed an orthotropic-Pasternak model and investigated the vibrational behavior when microtubules are embedded in surrounding elastic medium. We considered microtubules as orthotropic elastic shell and its surrounding elastic matrix as Pasternak foundation. We found that due to mechanical coupling of microtubules with elastic medium, the flexural vibration is increased with the stiffening of elastic medium. We noticed that foundation modulus (H) and shear modulus (G) have more effect on radial vibrational mode as compared to longitudinal vibrational mode and torsional vibrational mode.
活细胞中的微管对于各种细胞功能以及维持细胞形状都是非常重要的组成部分。微管的力学性能对其功能和结构起着至关重要的作用。为了了解活细胞中微管的力学性能，我们开发了一种各向异性-帕斯卡模型，并研究了当微管嵌入周围弹性介质时的振动行为。我们将微管视为各向异性弹性壳，将其周围的弹性基质视为帕斯卡基础。我们发现，由于微管与弹性介质的力学耦合，随着弹性介质的刚度增加，弯曲振动也随之增加。我们注意到，与纵向振动模式和扭转振动模式相比，基础模量（H）和剪切模量（G）对径向振动模式的影响更大。
