# name
Nematic characterization of a confluent monolayer of mouse liver fibroblasts

# metadata.dc.description[].value
Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2026, Tutors:  Ricard Alert Zenón i Janet Van der Graaf Mas

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
In biophysics, modeling tissues as active nematic liquid crystals provides a powerful
framework to understand the collective organization of spindle-shaped cells. Here, the topological
nature of mouse liver fibroblast monolayers is investigated. A custom computational pipeline was developed to extract local orientation fields and compute the tensor-averaged geometry of +1/2 comet
defects from experimental datasets. These geometries, alongside a theoretically ideal defect, governed by the one-constant approximation (K1 = K3), were physically replicated onto glass substrates
using PRIMO micropatterning. When seeded onto these engineered patterns, fibroblast populations
successfully remained spatially confined for 120 hours. However, internal cellular alignment dynamically evolved, developing emergent defects, and undergoing a full or partial −π/2 (counterclockwise)
rotation. The mathematically ideal pattern better accommodated this late-stage nematic organization. This work establishes a comprehensive methodology to mathematically model and physically
engineer nematic designs, enabling the reproducibility of active nematic based experiments.

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Nematic characterization of a confluent monolayer of mouse liver fibroblasts