Liquid-like inclusions arising in biomaterials and tissues often have coatings with material properties that differ from those of both the inclusion and the surrounding matrix. Understanding how these coatings interact with the inclusion and the surrounding matrix is critical to understanding tissue function and to developing a class of biomimetic materials. We therefore developed a closed-form mathematical solution to characterize how the properties of a coating surrounding a spherical liquid-like inclusion affect the volumetric strain it experiences when the surrounding matrix is loaded uniaxially. Results show that the coating can amplify or attenuate the volumetric strain within the liquid inclusion, depending upon the relative properties of the inclusion, coating, and matrix. We used the solution to study amplification and attenuation of mechanical fields in healthy and diseased tissues, and found that pathological remodeling of coatings can have a tremendous impact on the mechanical fields experienced by living cells. Results suggest important roles for coatings surrounding living cells in tuning the mechanobiology cues transmitted to cells when the tissues that host them are loaded mechanically.

生物材料和组织中产生的液体状夹杂物通常具有与夹杂物和周围基质不同的材料性质的涂层。了解这些涂层如何与内含物和周围基质相互作用对于了解组织功能和开发一类仿生材料至关重要。因此，我们开发了一种封闭形式的数学解决方案，以表征围绕球形液体状夹杂物的涂层的性能如何影响单轴加载周围基质时所经历的体积应变。结果表明，取决于包裹体，涂层和基质的相对性质，涂层可以放大或减弱液体包裹体中的体积应变。我们使用该解决方案研究了健康和患病组织中机械场的放大和衰减，并发现涂层的病理重塑会对活细胞经历的机械场产生巨大影响。结果表明，当宿主细胞的组织被机械加载时，活细胞周围的涂层在调节传递给细胞的力学生物学线索方面起着重要作用。