1,2,3Department of Bio-medical Engineering, Parul Institute of Technology, Parul University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
4Department of Bio-medical Engineering, Mody University of Science and Technology, Sikar, Rajasthan, India.
The degradation of matrix that interact with cells during cellular activity is important in the area of bone tissue engineering (BTE) and regenerative medicine. This study provides numerical analysis of matrix resulting from the presence of cells, apoptosis, migration cells as a response to cryogenic temperatures. Polyelectrolyte Complex (PEC) matrix composed of porous silk fibroin will be used to assess the degradation of matrix at constant pH level or concentration 7.2. A multi-physics analysis is performed through the COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 to assess modelling of heat transfer, solid mechanics and transport phenomena with degradation of matrix due to cryogenic temperature variations. Parameters including Temperature, Von Mises stress, Strain tensor, Displacement gradient and Deformation gradients will be characterized by matrix-cell configuration under cryogenic temperature gradients of −1, −2, and −5 K min⁻¹. The parallel configuration led to minimal strain 1.2 × 10⁻³ and resulted in a smoother stress distribution 6.2 × 10⁷ Pa however, there was a dramatic localization of stress with cells in the series configuration 4.8–5.0 × 10⁷ Pa. Additionally, in apoptosis, stress levels were measured to be high as 5.0–5.2 × 10⁷ Pa (-1K/min) and 7.0–10.7 × 10⁷ Pa (-5K/min). Although the average strain across the matrix during cell migration was measured to be 10⁻⁶, time-invariant stress created consistent migration of the cells across the entire temperature range. All effects were correlated in the numerical analysis for apoptosis, migration, and presence of cells in order to mechanistically relate the mechanics of the matrix to the behaviour of the cells and tissue regeneration.
Keywords: Bone tissue engineering, matrix degradation, cell migration and proliferation, Apoptosis, Cryogenic effect.
How to cite this article: Varshini P, Khambhati V, Khambhati D, Deshmukh K. Thermo-Mechanical Regulation Of Matrix Degradation: Coupled Effect Of Presence Of Cell, Apoptosis And Proliferation. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(8s): 815-837; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.8s.92
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None