Driving, Actuating, and Triggering Activity in Biopolymer Networks

Active and driven biopolymer networks, such as networks of cytoskeleton proteins, have been intensely investigated over the past decade due to their promise for designing smart materials and understanding cell mechanics. These materials continuously alter their mechanical properties by varying the structural properties and interactions of the comprising biopolymers. Non-equilibrium activity can be driven by external triggers such as light, salt, temperature, or magnetic or electric fields. Activity can also be internally driven via molecular motors. This session will bring together studies on a wide-range of non-equilibrium biopolymer networks to elucidate the functional design principles of driven soft matter, as well as the time-dependent structural and rheological properties of these non-equilibrium networks. Advances in modulating and characterizing driven networks will also be discussed.