Issue 42, 2023

Motility induced phase separation of deformable cells

Abstract

Using a multi-phase field model, we examine how particle deformability, which is a proxy for cell stiffness, affects motility induced phase separation (MIPS). We show that purely repulsive deformable, i.e., squishy, cells phase separate more effectively than their rigid counterparts. This can be understood as due to the fact that deformability increases the effective duration of collisions. In addition, the dense regions become increasingly disordered as deformability increases. Our results contextualize the applicability of MIPS to biological systems and have implications for how cells in biological systems may self-organize.

Graphical abstract: Motility induced phase separation of deformable cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Aug 2023
Accepted
06 Oct 2023
First published
07 Oct 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 8172-8178

Author version available

Motility induced phase separation of deformable cells

A. Hopkins, B. Loewe, M. Chiang, D. Marenduzzo and M. C. Marchetti, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 8172 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM01059G

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