Christian Schmeiser

(University of Vienna, Austria)

Nonlinear friction in the cytoskeleton as a macroscopic limit of

the activity of cytoskeletal proteins

The mechanical stability of polymer networks in the cytoskeleton relies on the action of cross-linking proteins and transmembrane proteins creating adhesion to the substrate. It will be demonstrated that their averaged effect can be described as friction, when cross-linking and adhesion molecules are assumed as elastic and when their building and breaking are described as stochastic processes.