A minimal model of elastic instabilities in biological filament bundles

Panter, Jack; Kusumaatmaja, Halim; Prior, Chris

doi:10.1098/rsif.2022.0287

A minimal model of elastic instabilities in biological filament bundles

Panter, Jack; Kusumaatmaja, Halim; Prior, Chris

Authors

Jack Panter

Professor Halim Kusumaatmaja halim.kusumaatmaja@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Dr Christopher Prior christopher.prior@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

We present a model of a system of elastic fibres which exhibits complex, coupled, nonlinear deformations via a connecting elastic spring network. This model can capture physically observed deformations such as global buckling, pinching and internal collapse. We explore the transitions between these deformation modes numerically, using an energy minimization approach, highlighting how supported environments, or stiff outer sheath structures, favour internal structural collapse over global deformation. We then derive a novel analytic buckling criterion for the internal collapse of the system, a mode of structural collapse pertinent in many biological filament bundles such as the optic nerve bundle and microtubule bundles involved in cell abscission.

Citation

Panter, J., Kusumaatmaja, H., & Prior, C. (2022). A minimal model of elastic instabilities in biological filament bundles. Journal of the Royal Society. Interface, 19(194), Article 20220287. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0287

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Aug 22, 2022
Online Publication Date	Sep 21, 2022
Publication Date	2022-09
Deposit Date	Oct 22, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Oct 24, 2022
Journal	Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
Print ISSN	1742-5689
Publisher	The Royal Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	19
Issue	194
Article Number	20220287
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0287

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Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors.

Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.