CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Soft Matter. 2017 Sep 13;13(35):5970-5976. doi: 10.1039/c7sm01278k.
Many studies have demonstrated that the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix can significantly influence the morphology, strength and lifetime of focal adhesions. However, how the morphology of the contact surface affects the pattern formation of the molecular bonds still remains largely unknown. Here, by simplifying the cell and extracellular matrix to two opposing elastic bodies and considering the lateral diffusion as well as the bonding/debonding of molecular bonds, we study the clustering behavior of receptor-ligand bonds between curved surfaces and the phase diagrams of cluster patterns. We reveal the important role of surface morphology and bond kinetics in regulating the patterns of bond clusters. We further investigate the segregation dynamics of the interfacial bonds under various loading speeds, and we show that the average interfacial stress is rate-dependent while the rupture stress is rate-independent. Finally, we demonstrate that programmable patterning of bond clusters can be achieved through the designed surface morphology.
许多研究表明，细胞外基质的力学性能可以显著影响粘着斑的形态、强度和寿命。然而，接触表面的形态如何影响分子键的模式形成在很大程度上仍然未知。在这里，通过将细胞和细胞外基质简化为两个相对的弹性体，并考虑分子键的侧向扩散以及键合/解键合，我们研究了曲面之间的受体-配体键的聚集行为以及簇模式的相图。我们揭示了表面形态和键动力学在调节键簇模式方面的重要作用。我们进一步研究了在各种加载速度下界面键的分离动力学，结果表明，平均界面应力是速率依赖性的，而断裂应力是速率无关的。最后，我们证明了通过设计的表面形态可以实现键簇的可编程图案化。
