The elastic interaction between a string of cells and an individual cell on an elastic substrate is investigated numerically using the force-dipole model. This interaction is found to be of short range, and the cut-of...The elastic interaction between a string of cells and an individual cell on an elastic substrate is investigated numerically using the force-dipole model. This interaction is found to be of short range, and the cut-off distance is about 1.4 times of the length of the cell. The energy-minimization distance is about half the cellular length. The specific relationship between the cellular reorientation and the cellular position are obtained quantitatively. A critical distance is found, and the cellular orientation has an abrupt change at this transition point.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 10502046, the National Basic Research Programme of China under Grant No 2006CB300404.
文摘The elastic interaction between a string of cells and an individual cell on an elastic substrate is investigated numerically using the force-dipole model. This interaction is found to be of short range, and the cut-off distance is about 1.4 times of the length of the cell. The energy-minimization distance is about half the cellular length. The specific relationship between the cellular reorientation and the cellular position are obtained quantitatively. A critical distance is found, and the cellular orientation has an abrupt change at this transition point.