Ashkan Vaziri's blog

Robust biomechanical models are essential for studying the nuclear mechanics and can help shed light on the underlying mechanisms of stress transition in nuclear elements. Here, we develop a computational model for an isolated nucleus undergoing micropipette aspiration. Our model includes distinct components representing the nucleoplasm and the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope itself comprises three layers: inner and outer nuclear membranes and one thicker layer representing the nuclear lamina.

Recent results on fluid-structure interaction for plates subject to high intensity air shocks are employed to assess the performance of all-metal sandwich plates compared to monolithic solid plates of the same material and mass per area. For a planar shock wave striking the plate, the new results enable the structural analysis to be decoupled from an analysis of shock propagation in the air. The study complements prior work on the role of fluid-structure interaction in the design and assessment of sandwich plates subject to water shocks. Square honeycomb and folded plate core topologies are considered. Fluid-structure interaction enhances the performance of sandwich plates relative to solid plates under intense air shocks, but not as significantly as for water blasts. The paper investigates two methods for applying the loading to the sandwich plate-responses are contrasted for loads applied as a time-dependent pressure history versus imposition of an initial velocity. Click here for the full paper.

Computational models of the cell nucleus, along with experimental observations, can help in understanding the biomechanics of force-induced nuclear deformation and mechanisms of stress transition throughout the nucleus. Here, we develop a computational model for an isolated nucleus undergoing indentation, which includes separate components representing the nucleoplasm and the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope itself is composed of three separate layers: two thin elastic layers representing the inner and outer nuclear membranes and one thicker layer representing the nuclear lamina. The proposed model is capable of separating the structural role of major nuclear components in the force-induced biological response of the nucleus (and ultimately the cell). A systematic analysis is carried out to explore the role of major individual nuclear elements, namely inner and outer membranes, nuclear lamina, and nucleoplasm, as well as the loading and experimental factors such as indentation rate and probe angle, on the biomechanical response of an isolated nucleus in atomic force microscopy indentation experiment.