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C.J. Huang Research GroupBiomechanics & Bio-inspired Engineering |
Membrane Mechanics
Membrane structures are ubiquitous in both mamanlian and plant cells and essential to the normal functions of cells and subcellular organelles. They are dynamic structures that may continuously evolve to have different lipid compositions and/or structures in response to pathological stress. Therefore, they are potential therapeutic and diagnostic targets. Our interests in membrane mechanics lie in the following aspects:
- Understand how mechanics controls membrane-mediated processes at the microscopic level, such as phase separation, vesicle shape transformation, lipid and protien sorting, etc.
- Identify the correlation between bio-chemo-mechanical properties of biological membranes and disease conditions (e.g. malaria, hypoxia, etc.).
Mechanics at Nano-Bio Interface
Nanoparticle-based diagnostic and therapeutic agents (i.e. nanomedicines) are considered as the next breakthrough in cancer research. To achieve maximized drug efficacy and/or amplified diagnositc singal, optimizing the design of nanoparticles to enable enhanced cellular uptake by harnessing the mechanics at the nano-bio interface becomes critical. On the other hand, exposure to some nanomaterials (e.g. carbon nanotubes, nano-plastics, etc.) may pose a health risk. We are taking a combined computational, theoretical and experimental approach to study the underlying mechanisms that regulate nanomaterial-cell interaction. Our interests in mechanics at nano-bio interface lie in the following two aspects:
- Understand how the biophysical and chemical properties of nanomaterials affect their interaction with biological systems.
- Understand and optimize nanomedicine-cell interaction in 3D environments.
Mechanobiology
The biological complexity and high cost of animal models have made it a routine for biologists, pathologists and pharmacologists to test their hypotheses using simplified in vitro systems where, historically, cells are cultured on two-dimensional (2D) flat, rigid surfaces (e.g.petri dishes, flasks, glass coverslips, etc.). However, studies in the last two decades have clearly demonstrated that cells are able to actively probe their surroundings through multiple mechanotransduction signaling pathways. Considering the fact that cells in vivo are surrounded by soft extracellular matrices (ECMs) and/or neighboring cells, 3D scaffolds with similar mechano-physical properties as natural tissues can potentially better mimic the living environment of cells in vivo, and therefore represent the next-generation in vitro systems. Our interests in mechanobiology lie in the following aspects:
- Identify the underlying principles that govern the mechanical states and behavior of cells in 3D matrix.
- Develop more physiologically relevant in vitro models that can be used for other biological and biomedical studies.
- Develop novel systems to manipulate cell behavior or interrogate the mechanobiology of cells.
