How protein materials balance strength, robustness, and adaptability

Buehler, Markus J.; Yung, Yu Ching

doi:10.2976/1.3267779

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As well as the study of biological proteins and their role in vivo, significant advances have been made in the study and use of proteins in the rational design of new materials. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] For example, spider silk proteins have been examined in detail to determine the relationship between protein sequence, structure and material properties. This approach promises a path towards the next generation of bio-materials for mechanically robust applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These motifs were defined according to the hydrogen bond arrangements between secondary structure elements within the protein, and have since been found to occur in many proteins in stability by investigating mechanical networks of hydrogen bonds in proteins, mechanical crack propagation and mechanical fracture in the context of protein unfolding under force 18,19,84,85 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Towards design principles for determining the mechanical stability of proteins

Hoffmann

Tych

Hughes

et al. 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The successful integration of proteins into bionanomaterials with specific and desired function requires an accurate understanding of their material properties. Two such important properties are their mechanical stability and malleability. While single molecule manipulation techniques 15 now routinely provide access to these, there is a need to move towards predictive tools that can rationally identify proteins with desired material properties. We provide a comprehensive review of the available experimental data on the single molecule characterisation of proteins using the 20 atomic force microscope. We uncover a number of empirical relationships between the measured mechanical stability of a protein and its malleability which provide a set of simple tools which might be employed to estimate properties of previously uncharacterised proteins. 25

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards design principles for determining the mechanical stability of proteins

Hoffmann

Tych

Hughes

et al. 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Figure 1 | Combination of disparate material properties in biological materials (panel A) (adapted from [2]), and realization of adaptive material properties via the generation of feedback loops in hierarchical structures (panel B) [6,46]. Panel A also visualizes schematically how high strength and toughness is lost in disease states such as brittle bone disease.…”

Section: Figures and Captionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale mechanics of biological and biologically inspired materials and structures

Buehler

2010

Acta Mechanica Solida Sinica

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The world of natural materials and structures provides an abundance of applications in which mechanics is a critical issue for our understanding of functional material properties. In particular, the mechanical properties of biological materials and structures play an important role in virtually all physiological processes and at all scales, from the molecular and nanoscale to the macroscale, linking research fields as diverse as genetics to structural mechanics in an approach referred to as materiomics. Example cases that illustrate the importance of mechanics in biology include mechanical support provided by materials like bone, the facilitation of locomotion capabilities by muscle and tendon, or the protection against environmental impact by materials as the skin or armors. In this article we review recent progress and case studies, relevant for a variety of applications that range from medicine to civil engineering. We demonstrate the importance of fundamental mechanistic insight at multiple time-and lengthscales to arrive at a systematic understanding of materials and structures in biology, in the context of both physiological and disease states and for the development of de novo biomaterials. Three particularly intriguing issues that will be discussed here include: First, the capacity of biological systems to turn weakness to strength through the utilization of multiple structural levels within the universality-diversity paradigm. Second, material breakdown in extreme and disease conditions. And third, we review an example where the hierarchical design paradigm found in natural protein materials has been applied in the development of a novel biomaterial based on amyloid protein.

show abstract

“…The Table 3.1 Definition of important properties of biological materials. Adapted from [15,16] Term Definition…”

Section: Proteins Proteins Everywhere!mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenges of Biological Materials

Cranford

Buehler

2012

Biomateriomics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The challenges of biological materials and systems-the inherent complexity-is a result of the diversity of Nature itself. The evolution of structure in biological materials is guided by the ever-changing requirements of the external environment and have resulted in materials with desirable engineering properties, such as high strength, toughness, adaptability, flaw tolerance, self-healing, mutability and multifunctionality, all with a limited set of-and frequently inferiorbuilding materials. As a result of such constraints, Nature implements a flexible material composed of a limited set of molecular components: soft, deformable, highly convoluted proteins, composed of a minute set of amino acids. Providing a common base, protein form and function has evolved intimately, such that even the prediction of folded structure from a known peptide sequence is a technological challenge. Potential functionality is extended through the use of structural hierarchies-resulting in system robustness, efficiency, and design tolerance-while decreasing the efficacy of any single-scale analysis. At the microscale, the complexity manifests as functional, growing, adaptable materials-producing "shaky" platforms for tissue engineering and growth. While biological and chemical cues may change across scales, mechanical insights can provide a common basis regardless of scale or analytical progression.Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better.Albert Einstein (1879Einstein ( -1955

show abstract

How protein materials balance strength, robustness, and adaptability

Cited by 13 publications

References 45 publications

Towards design principles for determining the mechanical stability of proteins

Towards design principles for determining the mechanical stability of proteins

Multiscale mechanics of biological and biologically inspired materials and structures

The Challenges of Biological Materials

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About