Numerical aspects of discrete and continuum hybrid models in cell biology

In this paper we introduce a method of modeling which mixes continuum and discrete variables, and explain two models in cell biology that use this method. The first application deals with wound healing, more specifically the collagen alignment in scar tissue formation and the second models early aggregation in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. We solve these models using numerical techniques similar to the particle-in-cell method which requires that the discrete and continuum variables are interpolated one to the other. The implementational and numerical details are discussed in an informal and practical manner with particular attention given to the problem of interpolation. (C) 2000 IMACS. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.