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Li ZY, Chen YP, Liu HY, Li B. Three-Dimensional Chiral Morphogenesis of Active Fluids. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 132:138401. [PMID: 38613297 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.132.138401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Chirality is an essential nature of biological systems. However, it remains obscure how the handedness at the microscale is translated into chiral morphogenesis at the tissue level. Here, we investigate three-dimensional (3D) tissue morphogenesis using an active fluid theory invoking chirality. We show that the coordination of achiral and chiral stresses, arising from microscopic interactions and energy input of individual cells, can engender the self-organization of 3D papillary and helical structures. The achiral active stress drives the nucleation of asterlike topological defects, which initiate 3D out-of-plane budding, followed by rodlike elongation. The chiral active stress excites vortexlike topological defects, which favor the tip spheroidization and twisting of the elongated rod. These results unravel the chiral morphogenesis observed in our experiments of 3D organoids generated by human embryonic stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhong-Yi Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yun-Ping Chen
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Hao-Yu Liu
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bo Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Caballero F, You Z, Marchetti MC. Vorticity phase separation and defect lattices in the isotropic phase of active liquid crystals. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:7828-7835. [PMID: 37796173 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm00744h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
We use numerical simulations and linear stability analysis to study the dynamics of an active liquid crystal film on a substrate in the regime where the passive system would be isotropic. Extensile activity builds up local orientational order and destabilizes the quiescent isotropic state above a critical activity, eventually resulting in spatiotemporal chaotic dynamics akin to the one observed ubiquitously in the nematic state. Here we show that tuning substrate friction yields a variety of emergent structures at intermediate activity, including lattices of flow vortices with associated regular arrangements of topological defects and a new state where flow vortices trap pairs of +1/2 defect that chase each other's tail. These chiral units spontaneously pick the sense of rotation and organize in a hexagonal lattice, surrounded by a diffuse flow of opposite rotation to maintain zero net vorticity. The length scale of these emergent structures is set by the screening length of the flow, controlled by the shear viscosity η and the substrate friction Γ, and can be captured by simple mode selection of the vortical flows. We demonstrate that the emergence of coherent structures can be interpreted as a phase separation of vorticity, where friction plays a role akin to that of birth/death processes in breaking conservation of the phase separating species and selecting a characteristic scale for the patterns. Our work shows that friction provides an experimentally accessible tuning parameter for designing controlled active flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Caballero
- Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
| | - Zhihong You
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Soft Functional Materials Research, Research Institute for Biomimetics and Soft Matter, Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - M Cristina Marchetti
- Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
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Li ZY, Zhang DQ, Lin SZ, Góźdź WT, Li B. Spontaneous organization and phase separation of skyrmions in chiral active matter. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:7348-7359. [PMID: 36124977 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00819j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Skyrmions are topologically protected vortex-like excitations that hold promise for applications such as information processing and electron manipulation. Here we combine theoretical analysis and numerical simulations to show that skyrmions can spontaneously emerge in chiral active matter without external confinements or regulation. Strikingly, these activity-driven skyrmions can either self-organize into a periodic, stable square lattice consisting of half Néel skyrmions and antiskyrmions, where the in-plane flows display an antiferromagnetic vortex array, or undergo phase separation between skyrmions with different topological numbers. We identify that the emerging skyrmion dynamics stems from the competition between the chiral and polar coherence length scales dictated by the interplay of intrinsic chirality, polarity, and elasticity in the system. Our results reveal unanticipated topological excitations, self-organization, and phase separation in non-equilibrium systems and also suggest a potential way towards engineering complicated bespoke skyrmionic structures through manipulating active matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhong-Yi Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - De-Qing Zhang
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Shao-Zhen Lin
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centre de Physique Théorique, Turing Center for Living Systems, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Wojciech T Góźdź
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Bo Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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Zhang DQ, Li ZY, Li B. Self-rotation regulates interface evolution in biphasic active matter through taming defect dynamics. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:064607. [PMID: 35854599 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.064607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Chirality can endow nonequilibrium active matter with unique features and functions. Here, we explore the chiral dynamics in biphasic active nematics composed of self-rotating units that continuously inject energy and angular momentum at the microscale. We show that the self-rotation of units can regularize the boundaries between two phases, rendering sinusoidal-like interfaces, which allow lateral wave propagation and are characterized by chains of ordered antiferromagnetic cross-interface flow vortices. Through the spontaneous coordination of counter-rotating units across the interfaces, topological defects excited by activity are sorted spatiotemporally, where positive defects are locally trapped at the interfaces but, unexpectedly, are transported laterally in a unidirectional rather than wavy mode, whereas inertial negative defects remain spinning in the bulks. Our findings reveal that individual chirality could be harnessed to modulate interfacial morphodynamics in active systems and suggest a potential approach toward controlling topological defects for programmable microfluidics and logic operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- De-Qing Zhang
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Zhong-Yi Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bo Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Nano/Micromotors in Active Matter. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020307. [PMID: 35208431 PMCID: PMC8878230 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Nano/micromotors (NMMs) are tiny objects capable of converting energy into mechanical motion. Recently, a wealth of active matter including synthetic colloids, cytoskeletons, bacteria, and cells have been used to construct NMMs. The self-sustained motion of active matter drives NMMs out of equilibrium, giving rise to rich dynamics and patterns. Alongside the spontaneous dynamics, external stimuli such as geometric confinements, light, magnetic field, and chemical potential are also harnessed to control the movements of NMMs, yielding new application paradigms of active matter. Here, we review the recent advances, both experimental and theoretical, in exploring biological NMMs. The unique dynamical features of collective NMMs are focused on, along with some possible applications of these intriguing systems.
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Lavrentovich OD. Design of nematic liquid crystals to control microscale dynamics. LIQUID CRYSTALS REVIEWS 2021; 8:59-129. [PMID: 34956738 PMCID: PMC8698256 DOI: 10.1080/21680396.2021.1919576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of small particles, both living such as swimming bacteria and inanimate, such as colloidal spheres, has fascinated scientists for centuries. If one could learn how to control and streamline their chaotic motion, that would open technological opportunities in the transformation of stored or environmental energy into systematic motion, with applications in micro-robotics, transport of matter, guided morphogenesis. This review presents an approach to command microscale dynamics by replacing an isotropic medium with a liquid crystal. Orientational order and associated properties, such as elasticity, surface anchoring, and bulk anisotropy, enable new dynamic effects, ranging from the appearance and propagation of particle-like solitary waves to self-locomotion of an active droplet. By using photoalignment, the liquid crystal can be patterned into predesigned structures. In the presence of the electric field, these patterns enable the transport of solid and fluid particles through nonlinear electrokinetics rooted in anisotropy of conductivity and permittivity. Director patterns command the dynamics of swimming bacteria, guiding their trajectories, polarity of swimming, and distribution in space. This guidance is of a higher level of complexity than a simple following of the director by rod-like microorganisms. Namely, the director gradients mediate hydrodynamic interactions of bacteria to produce an active force and collective polar modes of swimming. The patterned director could also be engraved in a liquid crystal elastomer. When an elastomer coating is activated by heat or light, these patterns produce a deterministic surface topography. The director gradients define an activation force that shapes the elastomer in a manner similar to the active stresses triggering flows in active nematics. The patterned elastomer substrates could be used to define the orientation of cells in living tissues. The liquid-crystal guidance holds a major promise in achieving the goal of commanding microscale active flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg D Lavrentovich
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Department of Physics, Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
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Collective Polarization of Cancer Cells at the Monolayer Boundary. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:mi12020112. [PMID: 33499191 PMCID: PMC7912252 DOI: 10.3390/mi12020112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Cell polarization, a process depending on both intracellular and intercellular interactions, is crucial for collective cell migration that commonly emerges in embryonic development, tissue morphogenesis, wound healing and cancer metastasis. Although invasive cancer cells display weak cell-cell interactions, they can invade host tissues through a collective mode. Yet, how cancer cells without stable cell-cell junctions polarize collectively to migrate and invade is not fully understood. Here, using a wound-healing assay, we elucidate the polarization of carcinoma cells at the population level. We show that with loose intercellular connections, the highly polarized leader cells can induce the polarization of following cancer cells and subsequent transmission of polarity information by membrane protrusions, leading to gradient polarization at the monolayer boundary. Unlike the polarization of epithelial monolayer where Rac1/Cdc42 pathway functions primarily, our data show that collective polarization of carcinoma cells is predominantly controlled by Golgi apparatus, a disruption of which results in the destruction of collective polarization over a large scale. We reveal that the Golgi apparatus can sustain membrane protrusion formation, polarized secretion, intracellular trafficking, and F-actin polarization, which contribute to collective cancer cell polarization and its transmission between cells. These findings could advance our understanding of collective cancer invasion in tumors.
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