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Protein Forced Unfolding and Its Effects on the Finite Deformation Stress-Strain Behavior of Biomacromolecular Solids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

H. Jerry Qi ,
Christine Ortiz  and
Mary C. Boyce
H. Jerry Qi
Affiliation:
Departments of Mechanical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
Christine Ortiz
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering
Mary C. Boyce
Affiliation:
Departments of Mechanical Engineering
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Abstract

Many proteins have been experimentally observed to exhibit a force-extension behavior with a characteristic repeating pattern of a nonlinear rise in force with imposed displacement to a peak, followed by a significant force drop upon reaching the peak (a “saw-tooth” profile) due to successive unfolding of modules during extension. This behavior is speculated to play a governing role in biological and mechanical functions of natural materials and biological networks composed of assemblies of such protein molecules. In this paper, a constitutive model for the finite deformation stress-strain behavior of crosslinked networks of modular macromolecules is developed. The force-extension behavior of the individual modular macromolecule is represented using the Freely Jointed Chain (FJC) statistical mechanics model together with a two-state theory to capture unfolding. The single molecule behavior is then incorporated into a formal continuum mechanics framework to construct a constitutive model. Simulations illustrate a relatively smooth “yield”-like stress-strain behavior of these materials due to activate unfolding in these microstructures.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 874: Symposium l – Structure and Mechanical Behavior of Biological Materials , 2005 , L4.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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