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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87747
Description
Title
Molecular Basis of Cell Adhesion Mechanics
Author(s)
Li, Fang
Issue Date
2007
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Nancy Sottos
Department of Study
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Discipline
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Biophysics, General
Language
eng
Abstract
Adhesive interactions between cells in multicellular organisms play a significant role in the development and maintenance of compact tissue structures. Cell adhesion depends on specialized adhesion molecules on the cell surfaces. Recent developments studying physical and chemical properties of the adhesion molecules have provided useful information in understanding the biological functions of the molecules. This thesis reports a combined theoretical and experimental study of adhesion molecules. A theoretical model is developed to study the strength of adhesion between two planar surfaces linked via multiple adhesion bonds in parallel subject to dynamic forces. Correlations between the dynamic strength and measurable kinetic and thermodynamic properties of the molecular bond are predicted based on the model. The model is further extended to a sphere-on-plane geometry commonly used in measurements. Dynamic force spectroscopy using atomic force microscopy is implemented to measure one of the model parameter, the intrinsic off-rate, of the adhesive bonds between various cadherin constructs.
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