Graduate Seminars Krystyn J. Van Vliet Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Friday, APRIL 2, 2010 - 9:30 am 1175 Benedum Hall
"Chemomechanics at Interfaces among Cells, Gels, and Nanocomposites" Abstract: Strong coupling between the chemical and mechanical states of metastable materials can drive new and tunable functions including sensing and actuation. Our laboratory focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of such chemomechanical coupling across a wide range of material interfaces. Chemomechanics is particularly advantageous at the interface between biological cells and extracellular materials. Here I will discuss our group's recent progress in understanding this coupling from the molecular to cellular scale through both experiments and simulations. Such studies help to elucidate how local pH and material stiffness can affect cell adhesion, and over which distances cells can 'feel' the local microenvironment. From the materials science & engineering perspective, our parallel studies of polymeric gels and nanocomposites are enabling material models for these biological interactions: many biological phenomena including adhesion & migration can be explained in part by physical models of gelation, macromolecular crowding, and reversible swelling. In these synthetic polymer systems, I will share our findings on how the local chemical environment and surface chemistry can be used to tune the interfacial mechanical response and properties of such gels and composites. Biography: Krystyn J. Van Vliet is presently the Thomas Lord Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, with a joint appointment in Bioengineering. Van Vliet earned her Sc.B. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Brown University (1998) MIT (2002), respectively, then completed postdoctoral studies at Children’s Hospital Boston. Van Vliet’s thesis and postdoctoral work focused on nanoscale mechanics of defect nucleation in metallic crystals and in vascular tissues, respectively. Though disparate in chemical complexity, crystalline and biopolymeric materials undergo phase transitions that can be induced and studied under nanoscale forces and displacements. Her current group, the Laboratory for Material Chemomechanics, focuses on multiscale measurement and computational prediction of the fundamental mechanisms of coupling between chemical and mechanical states of materials ranging from synthetic crystals to biological organisms. One application of this approach is directed modulation of tissue and microbial cell functions, through physical and mechanical cues rather than solely through chemical stimuli. Van Vliet directs the Nanomechanical Technology Laboratory, a shared experimental facility in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. |
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