Predicting Silk Fiber Mechanical Properties through Multiscale Simulation and Protein Design
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nihms905040.pdf
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964.28 KB
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Rim, Nae-Gyune
Roberts, Erin G.
Jacobsen, Matthew M.
Martín-Moldes, Zaira
Kaplan, David L.
Wong, Joyce Y.
Ebrahimi, Davoud
Dinjaski, Nina
Buehler, Markus J
Date Issued
August 2017
Journal
ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Citation
Rim, Nae-Gyune et al. “Predicting Silk Fiber Mechanical Properties through Multiscale Simulation and Protein Design.” ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 3, 8 (July 2017): 1542–1556 © 2017 American Chemical Society
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Silk is a promising material for biomedical applications, and much research is focused on how application-specific, mechanical properties of silk can be designed synthetically through proper amino acid sequences and processing parameters. This protocol describes an iterative process between research disciplines that combines simulation, genetic synthesis, and fiber analysis to better design silk fibers with specific mechanical properties. Computational methods are used to assess the protein polymer structure as it forms an interconnected fiber network through shearing and how this process affects fiber mechanical properties. Model outcomes are validated experimentally with the genetic design of protein polymers that match the simulation structures, fiber fabrication from these polymers, and mechanical testing of these fibers. Through iterative feedback between computation, genetic synthesis, and fiber mechanical testing, this protocol will enable a priori prediction capability of recombinant material mechanical properties via insights from the resulting molecular architecture of the fiber network based entirely on the initial protein monomer composition. This style of protocol may be applied to other fields where a research team seeks to design a biomaterial with biomedical application-specific properties. This protocol highlights when and how the three research groups (simulation, synthesis, and engineering) should be interacting to arrive at the most effective method for predictive design of their material. Keywords: computational modeling; genetic synthesis; recombinant silk; spinning
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1021/ACSBIOMATERIALS.7B00292
