Counterbending in a flagellum macromodel

The flagellum is one of the most critical biological compenents in nature; it is a basic feature common to many different types of cells and allows for even the most primitive cells to move around. However, the structure of the flagellum is far from simple. The inner core consists of a 9+2 microtubular structure where nine pairs of microtubules are arranged circumferentially with the last pair running down the center. The interstitial space consists of springy proteins and nexin bridges which radially connect the microtubules. Due to this structural complexity and minuscule size, the physical phenomena that occur within the flagellum itself are not well understood. Furthermore, it has been observed that under beam bending conditions a passive sperm flagellum will exhibit counterbend behavior which cannot be explained by current engineering theories. This study created a macroscopic model of the flagellum which allowed deeper exploration of these phenomena. Analysis of material properties and experiments were used to verify the accuracy of the proposed model.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Sweeney, Marty S. (Marty Suzanne Goldsmith)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Anette Hosoi.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/74452

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/74452