Fig 3 - uploaded by Francoise Brochard-Wyart
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Likelihood of aggregate spreading as a function of gel elastic modulus E . The bar chart represents the percentage of experiments during which the complete spreading (precursor film) is observed when an aggregate is deposited on a substrate of elastic modulus E (shaded in grey). The dashed line indicates a wetting transition from partial wetting (observed consistently for E 1⁄4 0.2 kPa) to complete wetting (observed consistently for E 1⁄4 40 kPa). The mean critical value of E to induced the transition is about E c z 8 kPa.
Source publication
We first describe the biomechanics of multicellular aggregates, a model
system for tissues and tumors. We first characterize the tissue
mechanical properties (surface tension, elasticity, viscosity) by a new
pipette aspiration technique. The aggregate exhibits a viscoelastic
response but, unlike an inert fluid, we observe aggregate reinforcement
wi...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... determine the value of the critical elastic modulus E c , we examine statistically the spreading on substrates of elastic moduli between 0.2 kPa and 40 kPa. For each modulus we test 15 aggregates and we determine the percentage of cases where complete wetting (spreading with a precursor film) is observed, as shown in Fig. 3. For example, on a substrate with E ¼ 7.4 kPa, 26% of the observed aggregates spread on the substrate. On a substrate with E ¼ 10.6 kPa, 83% of the observed aggregates spread on the substrate. This indicates that a wetting transition from complete wetting to partial wetting is induced by decreasing the rigidity of the substrate. This ...
