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Pin Tong¹
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 1-4, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.001
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Ghassan S. Kassab¹
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 5-22, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.005
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1721

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Gang Bao¹, Andrew Tsourkas², Philip J. Santangelo²
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 23-36, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.023
Abstract The ability to detect, localize, quantify and monitor the expression of specific genes in living cells in real-time will offer unprecedented opportunities for advancement in molecular biology, disease pathophysiology, drug discovery, and medical diagnostics. However, current methods for quantifying gene expression employ either selective amplification (as in PCR) or saturation binding followed by removal of the excess probes (as in microarrays and in situ hybridization) to achieve specificity. Neither approach is applicable when detecting gene transcripts within living cells. Here we review the recent development in engineering nanostructured molecular probes for gene detection in vivo, describe probe design approaches and… More >

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ARTICLE

Huajian Gao^1,1, Baohua Ji^1,1, Markus J. Buehler^1,1, Haimin Yao^1,1
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 37-52, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.037
Abstract Bone-like biological materials have achieved superior mechanical properties through hierarchical composite structures of mineral and protein. Gecko and many insects have evolved hierarchical surface structures to achieve extraordinary adhesion capabilities. We show that the nanometer scale plays a key role in allowing these biological systems to achieve their superior properties. We suggest that the principle of flaw tolerance may have had an overarching influence on the evolution of the bulk nanostructure of bone-like materials and the surface nanostructure of gecko-like animal species. We demonstrate that the nanoscale sizes allow the mineral nanoparticles in bone to achieve optimum fracture strength and… More >

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753

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D.E. Ingber¹
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 53-68, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.053
Abstract This article is a summary of a lecture presented at a symposium on "Mechanics and Chemistry of Biosystems'' in honor of Professor Y.C. Fung that convened at the University of California, Irvine in February 2004. The article reviews work from our laboratory that focuses on the mechanism by which mechanical and chemical signals interplay to control how individual cells decide whether to grow, differentiate, move, or die, and thereby promote pattern formation during tissue morphogenesis. Pursuit of this challenge has required development and application of new microtechnologies, theoretical formulations, computational models and bioinformatics tools. These approaches have been used to… More >

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878

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Jessica E. Koehne, Jun Li¹, Alan M. Cassell, Hua Chen, Qi Ye, Jie Han, M. Meyyappan
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 69-80, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.069
Abstract Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been reported in fabricating nanoelectrode arrays. Further studies on optimizing this system for the development of ultrasensitive DNA sensors are reported here. The mechanical stability of the as-grown MWCNT array can be improved by polymer coating or SiO₂ encapsulation. The latter method provides excellent electronic and ionic insulation to the sidewall of MWCNTs and the underlying metal layer, which is investigated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The insulation ensures well-defined nanoelectrode behavior. A method is developed for selectively functionalizing biomolecules at the open end of MWCNTs while keeping the SiO₂ surface passivated, using the… More >

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702

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Leo Q. Wan^1,1, Chester Miller^1,1, X. Edward Guo^2,2, Van C. Mow^1,1,3,3
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 81-100, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.081
Abstract The triphasic constitutive law [Lai, Hou and Mow (1991)] has been shown in some special 1D cases to successfully model the deformational and transport behaviors of charged-hydrated, porous-permeable, soft biological tissues, as typified by articular cartilage. Due to nonlinearities and other mathematical complexities of these equations, few problems for the deformation of such materials have ever been solved analytically. Using a perturbation procedure, we have linearized the triphasic equations with respect to a small imposed axial compressive strain, and obtained an equilibrium solution, as well as a short-time boundary layer solution for the mechano- electrochemical (MEC) fields for such a… More >

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