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Biomechanical design
01RXKXC, 01RXKMV
A.A. 2026/27
Course Language
Inglese
Degree programme(s)
Master of science-level of the Bologna process in Ingegneria Biomedica - Torino
Course structure
| Teaching | Hours |
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Lecturers
| Teacher | Status | SSD | h.Les | h.Ex | h.Lab | h.Tut | Years teaching |
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Co-lectures
Context
| SSD | CFU | Activities | Area context | ING-IND/34 | 6 | B - Caratterizzanti | Bioingegneria |
|---|
2025/26
Modern experimental and computational methods have provided us with unprecedented insight into the marvels of engineering at the scales ranging from nanometers to microns and beyond that characterize the structure and function of the building blocks of biological cells, tissue and organs. By incorporating concepts and methods from biophysics, biochemistry, bioengineering, structural engineering, materials science and biology, modeling methodologies and theoretical concepts allows us to gain better understanding of biological materials designed by nature, how they are organized and how they function separately and integrated into a unit such as the living cell and higher hierarchical levels such as tissue and organs.
Living systems are masterpieces of biomechanical design. At the heart of their functionality lies a complex and dynamic machinery composed of biomolecules, polymers, membranes, and networks that interact in precise and adaptive ways.
This course explores how nature engineers biological matter—from nanometer-scale components within the cell to integrated tissue and organ-level systems—through a combination of structural, mechanical, and dynamic principles.
Students will be guided through a multiscale journey, unveiling how the physical behavior of cellular and subcellular components determines biological function. Emphasis will be placed on understanding this machinery through experimental observation and mathematical modelling. These models bridge biological insight and engineering predictability, helping us decode how life works and how it can fail in disease.
Through a combination of theoretical concepts and case studies, the course provides the tools to interpret, analyse, and predict the behaviour of biological systems. It offers a foundational perspective for designing biomimetic materials, artificial systems, or innovative medical applications.
The course provides fundamentals of biomechanical engineering applying a multiscale/multiphysics vision, from molecules to organs and beyond. It offers a concise physical description of the organization of the cell and multi-cellular organisms and provides examples of the applications of biomolecular modeling at all levels of organization. Practical cases will be the objective of specific hands-on tutorials. The student will gain competencies in the areas of biophysics and biomechanics characterizing subcellular, cellular and tissue-level biological systems. At the end of the course the student will be able to: understand and characterize the biomechanics of subcellular structures such as proteins, protein aggregates, membranes, polymers filament networks; understand and characterize the physical, chemical and mechanical behavior of cells, tissues and organs in physiological and pathological conditions. The course will also provide information on the mechanisms responsible for emerging properties of living systems, such as biological information processing and consciousness.
This course will help students to develop their independent thinking through self-assessment tests. The course will help to improve both written and oral communication skills through classroom exercises, group and individual tutorials. The ability to learn is stimulated by a training program that alternates, in an organized schedule, methodological principles, application examples, and exercises.
This course equips students with the foundational tools to explore how biological systems are physically structured and how their internal machinery produces function. Combining theoretical modeling with practical examples, students will investigate how physical and mechanical principles govern living matter at the cellular and subcellular scale.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Describe the physical and mechanical properties of fundamental biological structures such as protein aggregates, filament networks, membranes, organelles and other subcellular structures.
• Analyse how cellular components interact to support functions like motion, force transmission, sensing, and adaptation.
• Characterise the behaviour of cells, tissues, and organs in both physiological and pathological conditions from a biophysical and mechanical perspective.
• Understand the principles of biological machines and molecular motors, and their integration into cellular processes.
• Interpret how structural constraints and physical forces influence biological information processing and emergent properties such as coordination and consciousness.
• Apply analytical tools to predict the behaviour of biological systems under varying physical and biochemical conditions.
• Develop independent thinking and learning strategies through structured self-assessment exercises and case-based tutorials.
• Improve written and oral communication skills through presentations, discussions, and written assignments on biomechanical design problems.
Basic knowledge of the basics of engineering with particular attention to physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, mechanics, materials science. The lecturer will fill specific background gaps by ad hoc lectures if needed.
Basic knowledge of the basics of engineering with particular attention to physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, mechanics, materials science. The lecturer will fill specific background gaps by ad hoc lectures if needed.
The course will cover the following topics:
• Introduction to living systems and Key Life Processes
• Biophysics and Biomechanics of subcellular structures
o Mechanics of Biopolymers
o Mechanics of Membranes
o Molecular and Biological Motors and Machines
• Biophysics and Biomechanics of the whole Cell
o Structure, Mechanics and Dynamics of Biological Cells
o Cell motility: cilia and flagella, beats and strokes.
o Cell communication, cell intelligence
• Tissue and Organ Biophysics and Biomechanics
o Energy Management in the human body
o Multiscale features of the nervous system
o Models of the immune system
o The biophysics of vision
o The biomechanics of sound perception
• Beyond Organs
o The emerging physics of consciousness
The course will cover the following core topics:
Introduction to Living Systems
o Physical principles of life
o Key molecular and cellular processes
Biophysics and Mechanics of Subcellular Structures
o Mechanics of biopolymers and cytoskeletal elements
o Mechanics of lipid membranes and compartmentalization
o Molecular and biological machines: structure, energetics, and function
Introduction to Mechanobiology
o Mechanical structure and dynamic remodeling of the cell
o Mechanosensing and mechanotransduction
o Mechanical regulation of cell behavior: growth, migration, differentiation, and apoptosis
o Physical models of force generation, tension homeostasis, and structural feedback
Special Topics (via seminars and discussions)
o Neuromechanobiology: system structure, dynamics, and sensory function
o Physical principles of perception
o Emergent physical models of consciousness
Lectures, classroom exercises
The course combines theoretical lectures with guided problem-solving sessions to foster both conceptual understanding and practical modeling skills.
• Lectures will introduce and discuss the fundamental principles of cellular and molecular biomechanics, with frequent interdisciplinary references to physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering.
• Classroom exercises will involve analytical problem solving and numerical examples, guided by the instructor at the board, to apply theoretical models to real biological systems.
• Case-based seminars or discussions may be included to explore specific biological or clinical phenomena through the lens of biomechanical reasoning and to stimulate scientific curiosity.
The teacher will provide all the course material (slides and lecture notes).
Suggested textbooks:
• Tuszynski, J.A., 2008. Molecular and cellular biophysics. Chapman & Hall/CRC.
• Boal, D., 2001. Mechanics of the Cell. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511810954
The teacher will provide all the course material (slides and lecture notes).
Suggested textbooks:
Tuszynski, J.A., 2008. Molecular and cellular biophysics. Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Boal, D., 2001. Mechanics of the Cell. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511810954
Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula);
Exam: Written test;
...
The exam consists of a written test made of multiple choice and open questions.
Each question will have a score from 1 to 4 points depending on the question type (open, closed) and complexity.
The total max is 35 or re-weighted to 35 in case the sum of question scores is higher than 35 .
A grade over 32 is 30L.
Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.
Exam: Written test;
The final exam consists of a written test with both theoretical and numerical questions. Questions are weighted based on complexity: 1 point for theory, and 2 to 3 points for applied problems. The maximum raw score is 34, and a final score above 31 corresponds to the top grade (30 cum laude).
In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.