Fluctuating Elasticity Mode in Transient Molecular Networks
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
Giovanni Nava1, Marina Rossi1, Silvia Biffi1
1Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Fratelli Cervi 93, I-20090 Segrate, Milano, Italy.
Abstract:
Transient molecular networks, a class of adaptive soft materials with remarkable application potential, display complex, and intriguing dynamic behavior. By performing dynamic light scattering on a wide angular range, we study the relaxation dynamics of a reversible network formed by DNA tetravalent nanoparticles, finding a slow relaxation mode that is wave vector independent at large q and crosses over to a standard q^{-2} viscoelastic relaxation at low q. Exploiting the controlled properties of our DNA network, we attribute this mode to fluctuations in local elasticity induced by connectivity rearrangement. We propose a simple beads and springs model that captures the basic features of this q^{0} behavior.
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