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Gradients in solid surface tension drive Marangoni-like motions in cell aggregates

Vikrant Yadav1,2,*, Md. Sulaiman Yousafzai1,2,5,*, Sorosh Amiri2,3, Robert W. Style4, Eric R. Dufresne4, and Michael Murrell1,2,4,5,†

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, 55 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
  • 2Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, 850 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, USA
  • 3Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Yale University, 10 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
  • 4Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
  • 5Department of Physics, Yale University, 217 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †michael.murrell@yale.edu
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, L031101 – Published 21 March, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.7.L031101

Abstract

The surface tension of living cells and tissues originates from the generation of nonequilibrium active stresses within the cell cytoskeleton. Here, using laser ablation, we generate gradients in the surface tension of cellular aggregates as models of simple tissues. These gradients of active surface stress drive large-scale and rapid toroidal motion. Subsequently, the motions spontaneously reverse as stresses reaccumulate and cells return to their original positions. Both forward and reverse motions resemble Marangoni flows in viscous fluids. However, the motions are faster than the timescales of viscoelastic relaxation and the surface tension gradient is proportional to mechanical strain at the surface. Further, due to active stress, both the surface tension gradient and surface strain are dependent upon the volume of the aggregate. These results indicate that surface tension can induce rapid and highly correlated elastic deformations in the maintenance of tissue shape and configuration.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 7, L031101– Published 21 March, 2022
  • Received 22 February 2021
  • Accepted 2 March 2022
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