Actomyosin stress fibers, one of the main components of the cell's cytoskeleton, provide mechanical stability to adherent cells by applying and transmitting tensile forces onto the extracellular matrix (ECM) at the sites of cell-ECM adhesion. While it is widely accepted that changes in spatial and temporal distribution of stress fibers affect the cell's mechanical properties, there is no quanti...

We derive a new formula for the asymptotic eigenvalue distribution of stiffness matrices obtained by applying P1 Finite Elements with standard mesh refinement to the semi elliptic PDE of second order in divergence form −∇(K∇Tu) = f on Ω, u = g on ∂Ω. Here Ω ⊂ R and K is supposed to be piecewise continuous and pointwise symmetric semi positive definite. The symbol describing this asymptotic eige...

We report a novel method to pattern the stiffness of an elastomeric nanocomposite by selectively impeding the cross-linking reactions at desired locations while curing. This is accomplished by using a magnetic field to enforce a desired concentration distribution of colloidal magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) in the liquid precursor of polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. MNPs impede the cross-li...