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Hidden geometries in networks arising from cooperative self-assembly.

ABSTRACT: Multilevel self-assembly involving small structured groups of nano-particles provides new routes to development of functional materials with a sophisticated architecture. Apart from the inter-particle forces, the geometrical shapes and compatibility of the building blocks are decisive factors. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of these processes is essential for the design of assemblies of desired properties. Here, we introduce a computational model for cooperative self-assembly with the simultaneous attachment of structured groups of particles, which can be described by simplexes (connected pairs, triangles, tetrahedrons and higher order cliques) to a growing network. The model incorporates geometric rules that provide suitable nesting spaces for the new group and the chemical affinity of the system to accept excess particles. For varying chemical affinity, we grow different classes of assemblies by binding the cliques of distributed sizes. Furthermore, we characterize the emergent structures by metrics of graph theory and algebraic topology of graphs, and 4-point test for the intrinsic hyperbolicity of the networks. Our results show that higher Q-connectedness of the appearing simplicial complexes can arise due to only geometric factors and that it can be efficiently modulated by changing the chemical potential and the polydispersity of the binding simplexes.

SUBMITTER: Suvakov M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5792636 | biostudies-other | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Hidden geometries in networks arising from cooperative self-assembly.

Šuvakov Milovan M Andjelković Miroslav M Tadić Bosiljka B

Scientific reports 20180131 1

Multilevel self-assembly involving small structured groups of nano-particles provides new routes to development of functional materials with a sophisticated architecture. Apart from the inter-particle forces, the geometrical shapes and compatibility of the building blocks are decisive factors. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of these processes is essential for the design of assemblies of desired properties. Here, we introduce a computational model for cooperative self-assembly with the ...[more]

PMID: 29386561

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Project description:The cell-dependent polymerization of intercellular fibronectin fibrils can stimulate cells to self-assemble into multicellular structures. The local physical cues that support fibronectin-mediated cellular self-assembly are largely unknown. Here, fibronectin matrix analogs were used as synthetic adhesive substrates to model cell-matrix fibronectin fibrils having different integrin-binding specificity, affinity, and/or density. We utilized this model to quantitatively assess the relationship between adhesive forces derived from cell-substrate interactions and the ability of fibronectin fibril assembly to induce cellular self-assembly. Results indicate that the strength of initial, rather than mature, cell-substrate attachments correlates with the ability of substrates to support fibronectin-mediated cellular self-assembly. The cellular response to soluble fibronectin was bimodal and independent of the integrin-binding specificity of the substrate; increasing soluble fibronectin levels above a critical threshold increased aggregate cohesion on permissive substrates. Once aggregates formed, continuous fibronectin polymerization was necessary to maintain cohesion. During self-assembly, soluble fibronectin decreased cell-substrate adhesion strength and induced aggregate cohesion via a Rho-dependent mechanism, suggesting that the balance of contractile forces derived from fibronectin fibrils within cell-cell versus cell-substrate adhesions controls self-assembly and aggregate cohesion. Thus, initial cell-substrate attachment strength may provide a quantitative basis with which to build predictive models of fibronectin-mediated microtissue fabrication on a variety of substrates.Cellular self-assembly is a process by which cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins spontaneously organize into three-dimensional (3D) tissues in the absence of external forces. Cellular self-assembly can be initiated in vitro, and represents a potential tool for tissue engineers to organize cells into modular building blocks for artificial tissue fabrication. Fibronectin is an ECM protein that plays a key role in tissue formation during embryonic development. Additionally, the cell-mediated process of converting soluble fibronectin into insoluble, ECM-associated fibrils has been shown to initiate cellular self-assembly in vitro. In this study, we examine the relationship between the strength of cell-substrate adhesions and the ability of fibronectin fibril assembly to induce cellular self-assembly. Our results indicate that substrate composition and density play cooperative roles with cell-mediated fibronectin matrix assembly to control the transition of cells from 2D monolayers into 3D multicellular aggregates. Results of this study provide a quantitative approach to build predictive models of cellular self-assembly, as well as a simple cell-culture platform to produce biomimetic units for modular tissue engineering.

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Hidden geometries in networks arising from cooperative self-assembly.

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Hidden geometries in networks arising from cooperative self-assembly.

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