title: Numerical simulation of a cellular-level experiment to induce traumatic injury to neurons.
abstract: Previous research has developed a pneumatically driven device for delivering a controlled mechanical insult to cultured neurons. The neuronal cell culture was injured by applying a transient air pulse to a culture well fitted with a highly elastic Silastic culture well bottom. In response to the pressure pulse, he Silastic culture well bottom deformed, stretched the attached cell culture, and resulted in observable cell injuries and death. The goal of this paper was to computationally model the spatial distribution of membrane strain, stress, and strain rate to which these cultures were subjected. The simulation results, using a finite element model of the culture well membrane, compared well with the results from the original experiments. When peak air pressure was varied from 69 kPa to 345 kPa (10 to 50 psig), numerical simulations showed that the corresponding membrane strains varied from 20 to 95% and the stress response varied from 0.5 to 1.2 MPa.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hampton
authors.forename: H Clay
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Gabler
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rzigalinski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis; D002462:Cell Membrane; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004548:Elasticity; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011312:Pressure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D020196:Trauma, Nervous System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*