Viscoelastic properties of a 2D biomimetic tissue

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Biological tissues exhibit complex rheological properties, combining elasticity, plasticity, and viscous dissipation. These mechanical properties play a crucial role in processes such as morphogenesis and wound healing. However, their in vivo study is often limited by the complexity of living systems.

Biomimetic models offer a controlled alternative for investigating these properties. Among them, the Droplet Interface Bilayer (DIB) model is particularly promising: it consists of assemblies of aqueous droplets immersed in a mixture of oil and lipids. When droplets are brought into contact, they spontaneously connect via lipid bilayers, mimicking cellular junctions [1-3]. This system allows fine-tuning of adhesive interactions between droplets and viscous dissipation, providing an ideal framework for studying their impact on the overall mechanical properties of the tissue.

Internship Objectives – During this internship, the focus will be on:

• Fabricating biomimetic tissues using microfluidic methods.
• Measuring the viscoelastic properties of the biomimetic tissue under oscillatory uniaxial compression. Imaging droplet deformations and displacements, and quantifying the forces involved.
• Varying adhesive and viscous interactions between droplets (via the composition of oil and lipids). Analyzing how these variations influence the tissue’s mechanical response.
• Modeling: Developing viscoelastic models (e.g., generalized Kelvin-Voigt or Maxwell models) to describe the experimental results.

Bibliographical References

[1] G. Villar et al. Science 340.6128, 48-52 (2013) [2] M. Valet et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 088101 (2019) [3] C. Vincent et al. arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.21474 (2025) [4] Cécile Vincent. Biomimetic Approach to Cell-Cell Communication. PhD Thesis, Sorbonne Université, 2025.