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1. Sensor Egregium—An Atomic Force Microscope Sensor for Continuously Variable Resonance Amplification

   https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4050274  

   Shihab, Rafiul ; Jalil, Tasmirul ; Gulsacan, Burak ; Aureli, Matteo ; Tung, Ryan ( August 2021 , Journal of Vibration and Acoustics)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Numerous nanometrology techniques concerned with probing a wide range of frequency-dependent properties would benefit from a cantilevered sensor with tunable natural frequencies. In this work, we propose a method to arbitrarily tune the stiffness and natural frequencies of a microplate sensor for atomic force microscope applications, thereby allowing resonance amplification at a broad range of frequencies. This method is predicated on the principle of curvature-based stiffening. A macroscale experiment is conducted to verify the feasibility of the method. Next, a microscale finite element analysis is conducted on a proof-of-concept device. We show that both the stiffness and various natural frequencies of the device can be controlled through applied transverse curvature. Dynamic phenomena encountered in the method, such as eigenvalue curve veering, are discussed and methods are presented to accommodate these phenomena. We believe that this study will facilitate the development of future curvature-based microscale sensors for atomic force microscopy applications. 

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2. Static and Dynamic Nonlinear In-plane Effect in the Response of a Cantilevered Plate with Tip Mass Load: Theory and Experiment

   https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4055304  

   Luisa Piccolo Serafim, Everett H. ( January 2022 , journal of applied mechanics)

   In this paper two nonlinear effects are investigated. One is the effect of the static stiffness nonlinearity in changing the linear dynamic natural frequency and the other is the combination of nonlinear stiffness and nonlinear inertia effects in changing the nonlinear dynamic transient response due to a change in the initial release state of the system. A theoretical model has been developed for a cantilevered thin plate with a range of length to width ratio using beam theory and considering both stiffness and inertial nonlinearities in the model. Lagrange’s equation was used to deduce nonlinear inertia and stiffness matrices for a modal representation. Some insights into how these nonlinear components influence the beam response are presented. Measurements with both a hammer test and also a release test of cantilevered thin plates were done using different configurations and tip mass values. Results from static and dynamic analysis using the linear and the nonlinear theoretical model show good agreement between theory and experiment for natural frequencies and the amplitude displacements versus time. 

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3. Cellular Alignment and Matrix Stiffening Induced Changes in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202402228  

   House, Andrew ; Santillan, Anjeli ; Correa, Evan ; Youssef, Victoria ; Guvendiren, Murat ( October 2024 , Advanced Healthcare Materials)

   Biological processes are inherently dynamic, necessitating biomaterial platforms capable of spatiotemporal control over cellular organization and matrix stiffness for accurate study of tissue development, wound healing, and disease. However, most in vitro platforms remain static. In this study, a dynamic biomaterial platform comprising a stiffening hydrogel is introduced and achieved through a stepwise approach of addition followed by light‐mediated crosslinking, integrated with an elastomeric substrate featuring strain‐responsive lamellar surface patterns. Employing this platform, the response of human induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived cardiomyocytes (hIPSC‐CMs) is investigated to dynamic stiffening from healthy to fibrotic tissue stiffness. The results demonstrate that culturing hIPSC‐CMs on physiologically relevant healthy stiffness significantly enhances their function, as evidenced by increased sarcomere fraction, wider sarcomere width, significantly higher connexin‐43 content, and elevated cell beating frequency compared to cells cultured on fibrotic matrix. Conversely, dynamic matrix stiffening negatively impacts hIPSC‐CM function, with earlier stiffening events exerting a more pronounced hindering effect. These findings provide valuable insights into material‐based approaches for addressing existing challenges in hIPSC‐CM maturation and have broader implications across various tissue models, including muscle, tendon, nerve, and cornea, where both cellular alignment and matrix stiffening play pivotal roles in tissue development and regeneration.

    

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4. Dynamically stiffened matrix promotes malignant transformation of mammary epithelial cells via collective mechanical signaling

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1814204116  

   Ondeck, Matthew G. ; Kumar, Aditya ; Placone, Jesse K. ; Plunkett, Christopher M. ; Matte, Bibiana F. ; Wong, Kirsten C. ; Fattet, Laurent ; Yang, Jing ; Engler, Adam J. ( February 2019 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Breast cancer development is associated with increasing tissue stiffness over years. To more accurately mimic the onset of gradual matrix stiffening, which is not feasible with conventional static hydrogels, mammary epithelial cells (MECs) were cultured on methacrylated hyaluronic acid hydrogels whose stiffness can be dynamically modulated from “normal” (<150 Pascals) to “malignant” (>3,000 Pascals) via two-stage polymerization. MECs form and remain as spheroids, but begin to lose epithelial characteristics and gain mesenchymal morphology upon matrix stiffening. However, both the degree of matrix stiffening and culture time before stiffening play important roles in regulating this conversion as, in both cases, a subset of mammary spheroids remained insensitive to local matrix stiffness. This conversion depended neither on colony size nor cell density, and MECs did not exhibit “memory” of prior niche when serially cultured through cycles of compliant and stiff matrices. Instead, the transcription factor Twist1, transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), and YAP activation appeared to modulate stiffness-mediated signaling; when stiffness-mediated signals were blocked, collective MEC phenotypes were reduced in favor of single MECs migrating away from spheroids. These data indicate a more complex interplay of time-dependent stiffness signaling, spheroid structure, and soluble cues that regulates MEC plasticity than suggested by previous models.

    

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5. An improved solid‐shell element based on ANS and EAS concepts

   https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.5260  

   Mostafa, M. ( May 2016 , International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering)

   This paper presents an eight‐node nonlinear solid‐shell element for static problems. The main goal of this work is to develop a solid‐shell formulation with improved membrane response compared with the previous solid‐shell element (MOS2013), presented in. Assumed natural strain concept is implemented to account for the transverse shear and thickness strains to circumvent the curvature thickness and transverse shear locking problems. The enhanced assumed strain approach based on the Hu–Washizu variational principle with six enhanced assumed strain degrees of freedom is applied. Five extra degrees of freedom are applied on the in‐plane strains to improve the membrane response and one on the thickness strain to alleviate the volumetric and Poisson's thickness locking problems. The ensuing element performs well in both in‐plane and out‐of‐plane responses, besides the simplicity of implementation. The element formulation yields exact solutions for both the membrane and bending patch tests. The formulation is extended to the geometrically nonlinear regime using the corotational approach, explained in. Numerical results from benchmarks show the robustness of the formulation in geometrically linear and nonlinear problems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

    

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