2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
(319b) Merging Turing Patterns and Cellular Automata: Simultaneously Assembling and Evolving Structures Via Diffusiophoresis
Authors
Gupta, A. - Presenter, Princeton University
Mirfendereski, S., University of Nebraska Lincoln
Turing patterns, known for their diverse formations in biological systems like animal skins, arise from reaction-diffusion instabilities. These far-from-equilibrium structures are typically static, however. Cellular automata, in contrast, are dynamic models requiring an initial condition where the patterns evolve with time. Traditionally, these approaches are treated separately. Here, we introduce a novel concept: cells that migrate through diffusiophoresis, responding to gradients of biomolecular signals, and then evolve via cellular automata rules. This unified framework allows for integrated assembly and evolution within a single model. Using particle-level simulations, we quantify how finite particle volume fraction and size limitations impact pattern formation and its subsequent evolution.