Widening the Playing Field: A Biomimetic Modeling System
Poster Number
08C
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Joshua Steimel
Faculty Mentor Department
Mechanical Engineering
Abstract/Artist Statement
Friction is fundamental at the cellular level because it is at the core of many locomotion modes utilized by cells to navigate the complex and often crowded cellular environments. Understanding to what extent friction plays in biological processes like chemotaxis or haptotaxis is crucial. Typically, the first step in doing so is by simplifying the complex biological system and developing a synthetic model system to mimic the biological system of interest. To do this, an apparatus is needed to drive magnetic particle motion and to break bonds between the particle and the substrate. To accomplish this, one can utilize a Helmholtz coil type apparatus to generate rotating magnetic fields. Previous iterations of this apparatus were able to generate magnetic fields up to several mT, however this was not large enough to break strong biological interactions. Thus, an entirely new apparatus was built with larger magnetic coils to produce a higher magnetic field strength to break these bonds. By increasing the magnetic field strength, we will be able to measure a wider range of effective friction and frictional environments. The frame of the apparatus was constructed out of cut T-slots and secured together with 1-inch silver corner brackets. There were 350 turns of copper gauge 19 wire wrapped on each coil with inner and outer diameters of 4 and 5 inches. The previous iteration of this apparatus had only 150 turns per coil, which produced a magnetic flux density of 10 mT. A gaussmeter will be used on the new apparatus to measure the strength of its magnetic field. This will then be compared to the previous apparatus and the theoretical magnetic field strength of the new apparatus, which should be between 30-50mT. The homogeneity of the magnetic field will also be determined to prevent drift in future experiments.
Location
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Start Date
27-4-2018 12:30 PM
End Date
27-4-2018 2:30 PM
Widening the Playing Field: A Biomimetic Modeling System
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Friction is fundamental at the cellular level because it is at the core of many locomotion modes utilized by cells to navigate the complex and often crowded cellular environments. Understanding to what extent friction plays in biological processes like chemotaxis or haptotaxis is crucial. Typically, the first step in doing so is by simplifying the complex biological system and developing a synthetic model system to mimic the biological system of interest. To do this, an apparatus is needed to drive magnetic particle motion and to break bonds between the particle and the substrate. To accomplish this, one can utilize a Helmholtz coil type apparatus to generate rotating magnetic fields. Previous iterations of this apparatus were able to generate magnetic fields up to several mT, however this was not large enough to break strong biological interactions. Thus, an entirely new apparatus was built with larger magnetic coils to produce a higher magnetic field strength to break these bonds. By increasing the magnetic field strength, we will be able to measure a wider range of effective friction and frictional environments. The frame of the apparatus was constructed out of cut T-slots and secured together with 1-inch silver corner brackets. There were 350 turns of copper gauge 19 wire wrapped on each coil with inner and outer diameters of 4 and 5 inches. The previous iteration of this apparatus had only 150 turns per coil, which produced a magnetic flux density of 10 mT. A gaussmeter will be used on the new apparatus to measure the strength of its magnetic field. This will then be compared to the previous apparatus and the theoretical magnetic field strength of the new apparatus, which should be between 30-50mT. The homogeneity of the magnetic field will also be determined to prevent drift in future experiments.