Tunable Hyperuniformity in Cellular Structures

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical framework inspired by biological cells to generate tunable hyperuniform structures, revealing new insights into their properties and potential applications in material design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel biological-inspired method for creating hyperuniform structures with adjustable properties, bridging biology and materials science.

Findings

Hyperuniform states can be tuned by cell elasticity and interfacial tension.

Different hyperuniform states exhibit distinct mechanical and fluctuation properties.

The framework links biological tissue organization to material hyperuniformity.

Abstract

Hyperuniform materials, characterized by their suppressed density fluctuations and vanishing structure factors as the wave number approaches zero, represent a unique state of matter that straddles the boundary between order and randomness. These materials exhibit exceptional optical, mechanical, and acoustic properties, making them of great interest in materials science and engineering. Traditional methods for creating hyperuniform structures, including collective-coordinate optimization and centroidal Voronoi tessellations, have primarily been computational and face challenges in capturing the complexity of naturally occurring systems. This study introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework to generate hyperuniform structures inspired by the collective organization of biological cells within an epithelial tissue layer. By adjusting parameters such as cell elasticity and interfacial tension, we explore a spectrum of hyperuniform states from fluid to rigid, each exhibiting distinct mechanical properties and types of density fluctuations. Our results not only advance the understanding of hyperuniformity in biological tissues but also demonstrate the potential of these materials to inform the design of novel materials with tailored properties.