Publication Date
1-1-2024
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Science Advances
Volume
10
Issue
2
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adh1265
Abstract
The adaptive mechanical properties of soft and fibrous biological materials are relevant to their functionality. The emergence of the macroscopic response of these materials to external stress and intrinsic cell traction from local deformations of their structural components is not well understood. Here, we investigate the nonlinear elastic behavior of blood clots by combining microscopy, rheology, and an elastic network model that incorporates the stretching, bending, and buckling of constituent fibrin fibers. By inhibiting fibrin cross-linking in blood clots, we observe an anomalous softening regime in the macroscopic shear response as well as a reduction in platelet-induced clot contractility. Our model explains these observations from two independent macroscopic measurements in a unified manner, through a single mechanical parameter, the bending stiffness of individual fibers. Supported by experimental evidence, our mechanics-based model provides a framework for predicting and comprehending the nonlinear elastic behavior of blood clots and other active biopolymer networks in general.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Department
Biomedical Engineering; Chemical and Materials Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
Recommended Citation
Andrei Zakharov, Myra Awan, Terrence Cheng, Arvind Gopinath, Sang Joon John Lee, Anand K. Ramasubramanian, and Kinjal Dasbiswas. "Clots reveal anomalous elastic behavior of fiber networks" Science Advances (2024). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh1265
