Title Information
Title
A FLUID MECHANICS APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING FIBRILLAR STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION IN 2D AND 3D
Type of Resource (primo)
dissertations
Name: Personal
Name Part
Salazar Coariti, Adriana Carola
Role
Role Term: Text
creator
Name: Personal
Name Part
Toussaint, Kimani
Role
Role Term: Text
Advisor
Name: Personal
Name Part
Zenit, Roberto
Role
Role Term: Text
Reader
Name: Personal
Name Part
Mathiowitz, Edith
Role
Role Term: Text
Reader
Name: Personal
Name Part
Morgan, Jeffrey
Role
Role Term: Text
Reader
Name: Corporate
Name Part
Brown University. Biology and Medicine: Biomedical Engineering
Role
Role Term: Text
sponsor
Origin Information
Copyright Date
2025
Physical Description
Extent
, None p.
digitalOrigin
born digital
Note: thesis
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2025
Genre (aat)
theses
Abstract
The structural organization of fibrillar networks plays a central role in determining the mechanical and functional properties of biological tissues. Despite its importance, quantitatively characterizing fiber alignment and organization in two and three dimensions remains challenging. In this dissertation, I present a fluid mechanics–inspired framework for studying fibrillar organization, integrating principles of vector field analysis with advanced optical imaging. Using Fourier transform–second harmonic generation (FT-SHG) microscopy, I acquired high-resolution images of collagen fiber networks and developed a novel method. Fluid-Inspired Fiber Analysis (FIFA), to extract orientation distributions, coherence, and three-dimensional structural descriptors. By drawing analogies to gradient, divergence, and curl operators from fluid mechanics, the approach enables a unified description of local and global organization across multiple length scales. The method was validated on synthetic and biological samples, demonstrating robust performance in capturing alignment transitions, hierarchical features, and spatial heterogeneity. Applications include the quantitative assessment of collagen remodeling in engineered matrices and biological tissues. Together, these results establish a new framework for understanding fibrillar microstructure that bridges fluid mechanics concepts with optical bioimaging, offering quantitative tools for mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and disease diagnostics.
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00927999")
Topic
Fluid mechanics
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01020118")
Topic
Microstructure
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00923633")
Topic
Fibers
Subject (fast) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01110562")
Topic
Second harmonic generation
Subject
Topic
collagen I
Language
Language Term (ISO639-2B)
English
Record Information
Record Content Source (marcorg)
RPB
Record Creation Date (encoding="iso8601")
20251201