Paper Number
BL13 My Program
Session
Biomaterials, Bio-fluid Dynamics and Biorheology
Title
Non-equilibrium micromechanics of photo-responsive biopolymer composites
Presentation Date and Time
October 20, 2025 (Monday) 4:05
Track / Room
Track 6 / Sweeney Ballroom C
Authors
- Robertson-Anderson, Rae M. (University of San Diego, Physics and Biophysics)
Author and Affiliation Lines
Rae M. Robertson-Anderson
Physics and Biophysics, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA 92110
Speaker / Presenter
Robertson-Anderson, Rae M.
Keywords
experimental methods; biomaterials; microscopy; polymer blends; polymer solutions; rheometry
Text of Abstract
Active dynamics and out-of-equilibrium reconfigurability, at the heart of diverse biological processes, are widely studied across disciplines in efforts to infuse such properties into next-generation autonomous materials, and to understand the physics underlying living systems that are far from equilibrium. I will discuss our bio-inspired approaches to introduce non-equilibrium rheological properties, active dynamics and restructuring into biopolymer composites. Examples include using photo-activated crosslinking and ligation to spatiotemporally control gelation of DNA fluids, and using cyanobacteria cells to sculpt the structure and rheology of cytoskeleton scaffolds. I will also highlight some of the novel microrheology methods that we have developed to characterize the heterogeneous time-varying rheological and dynamical properties of these ‘living’ materials.