elasticity – Softbites

November 25, 2020

Supersoft matter bounces back: Softer, Better, Stronger

If you’ve ever worn soft contact lenses, you may know that they dry out and harden if they are not stored in a solution. This pervasive issue of hydrogel materials occurs when the solvent leaks or evaporates, affecting their mechanical properties. In this week’s post, polymer scientists develop super-soft dry elastomers (very elastic or rubbery polymers) that surpass the softness and elasticity of hydrogels, all without getting their hands wet.

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020

Researchers play with elastic bands to understand DNA and protein structures.

Recently, Nicholas Charles and researchers from Harvard published a study that used simulations of elastic fibers to probe their response to stretching and rotation applied simultaneously. The results shed light on how DNA, proteins, and other fibrous materials respond to forces and get their intricate shapes.

March 20, 2019

The key to fighting cancer: be flexible

In my previous post on soft nanoparticles, you were introduced to polymer-based nanoparticles that could be used in biomedical applications, one of which is cancer therapy. These nanoparticles have a range of useful properties for cancer treatments, including their spherical shape and small size (~100 nm), both of which are similar to exosomes, small globules that are used in nature for transferring proteins between cells. Since cells naturally absorb exosomes, artificial particles with this size and shape should also be easy for cells to absorb, which means these particles could be used to deliver drugs into cells. While this idea sounds promising, it hasn’t worked out in practice — when drug-loaded polymer-based nanoparticles were injected into a tumor, subsequent tests showed that less than 1% of the injected dose entered the cancer cells. Since these particles were the correct size and shape, why didn’t they get inside the target cells?

May 23, 2018May 21, 2018

Elastogranularity and how soil may shape the roots of plants

Granular rearrangement and the deformation of beams under load are two well understood, but very different systems. What happens when you put them together?

November 2, 2017April 14, 2018

When Bending Comes at A Cost: Vesicle Formation and Size Distribution

Cells use tiny capsules called vesicles to uptake nutrients, to dump waste, and to communicate. They astonishingly alter the mechanics and size of these capsules that are made of very thin layers with an incredible efficacy and speed. But what are the key parameters that govern the formation of these vesicles?