Additional studies of mathematical models relating to the gelation and elasticity of complex cytoskeletal networks have been carried out. In particular, because the dynamic nature of molecular bonding in cytoplasmic networks can result in time-dependent relaxation of mechanical stress, transient network models of polymerizing actin filaments have been formulated and analyzed. Mathematical expressions have been obtained for viscoelastic coefficients in terms of concentrations of network constituents and kinetic constants for crosslinking. The feasibility of using dynamic light scattering to measure elastic storage and loss moduli has been examined, and conditions necessary for resolving spectral data have been determined.
