Description of Research Area

Multiscale Modeling of the Dynamics of Active Filaments

Research Subject

Cilia and flagella are organelles of great biological importance as they control swimming of cells and material transport in vivo. Acto-myosin and microtubule-kinesin complexes as well as filamentous cells (ex. E. coli, Vibrio) exhibit various patterns of collective motion in fluids and on solid substrates. The aim of this project is to draw a comprehensive physical picture of these biologically active filaments by describing their dynamics at different length-scales and coarse-graining levels. For cilia and eukaryotic flagella, we will reproduce their beating motion with an elastic filament model that incorporates the interaction between microtubuli and dyneins, and then numerically simulate the metachronal waves. For self-propelling filaments, we will construct numerical models that incorporate the bending elasticity and steric interaction to reproduce the experimentally observed dynamical patterns such as active liquid crystals and active turbulence.