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Volumetric response of an ellipsoidal liquid inclusion: implications for cell mechanobiology

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Abstract

Elastic composites containing liquid inclusions exist widely in nature and in engineered systems. The volumetric response of liquid inclusions is important in many cases, such as an isolated cell embedded in an extracellular matrix or an oil pocket embedded within shale. In this study, we developed a model for describing the volumetric response of an ellipsoidal liquid inclusion. Specifically, we investigated the volumetric response of an ellipsoidal liquid inclusion embedded in a three-dimensional (3D) matrix through an analytical expression of the volumetric response. We performed parametric analysis and found that loading along the shortest axis can induce the most volume change, while loading along the longest axis can induce the least volume change. We also found that the volumetric response decreases with increasing Poisson ratio of the matrix. These results could be used to understand some cell behavior in a 3D matrix, for example, cell alignment under mechanical load.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 11522219 and 11532009), the National Institutes of Health (Grant U01EB016422), and the National Science Foundation through the Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology (Grant CMMI 1548571).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Xin Chen, Wei He & Moxiao Li

  2. Bioinspired Engineering and Biomechanics Center (BEBC), Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Xin Chen, Wei He, Moxiao Li, Guy M. Genin & Feng Xu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Xin Chen, Shaobao Liu & Tian Jian Lu

  4. Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Shaobao Liu, Guy M. Genin & Feng Xu

  5. U.S. National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Guy M. Genin

  6. Nanjing Center for Multifunctional Lightweight Materials and Structures (MLMS), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Tian Jian Lu

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  1. Xin Chen
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  2. Wei He
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  3. Shaobao Liu
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  4. Moxiao Li
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  5. Guy M. Genin
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  6. Feng Xu
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  7. Tian Jian Lu
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Correspondence to Feng Xu or Tian Jian Lu.

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Chen, X., He, W., Liu, S. et al. Volumetric response of an ellipsoidal liquid inclusion: implications for cell mechanobiology. Acta Mech. Sin. 35, 338–342 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-019-00850-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-019-00850-5

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