Active model biopolymer networks in vitro and in vivo (A02)

• Subject Area: Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
• Term: from 2011 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 178321814

Active matter is defined as a soft material internally driven by mechanical non-equilibrium processes. The cytoskeleton of cells is an example of this state of matter. This project will study simple three-component in vitro model systems made from cytoskeletal filaments, motor proteins and physiological crosslinkers. Particle microrheology as well as a new approach using fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes will be used to analyze the interplay between viscoelastic properties and non-equilibrium stress fluctuations. The latter method will also be employed in cells to map intracellular dynamics.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 937: Collective Behaviour of Soft and Biological Matter
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Christoph Friedrich Schmidt