Physical Principles of Electro-Mechano-Biology

This book covers the recently developed understanding of Electro-Mechano-Biology (EMB) in which the focus is primarily on the couplings between the electric and mechanical fields. Our emphasis is on the analytical and computational aspects of EMB at the cellular level. This book is divided into two parts. In the first part, we start by defining and discussing the relevant basic aspects of the electrical and mechanical properties of cell membranes. We provide an overview of some of the ways analytical modelling of cell membrane electrodeformation (ED) and electroporation (EP) appears in a variety of contexts as well as a contemporary account of recent developments in computational approaches that can feature in the theory initiative, particularly in its attempt to describe the cohort of activities currently underway. Intended to serve as an introductory text and aiming to facilitate the understanding of the field to non-experts, this part does not dwell on the set of topics, such as cellular mechanosensing and mechanotransduction, irreversible EP, and atomistic molecular dynamics modelling of membrane EP. This choice reflects my research interests and is also the starting point for many other avenues of research on EMB. The second (and larger) part of the book is devoted to a presentation of the necessary analytical and computational tools to illustrate the ideas behind EMB and illuminate physical insights. The scope of this book is limited: other authors would emphasize different problems and examples. Brief notes on the history of EMB and its many applications describing the variety of ideas and approaches are also included. Through this part, we touch on the first-principles background and practical calculation methods with the intention of highlighting aspects that are not actually found in a single volume.