Design and manufacture of a large-scale collagen protein model for educational use

Abstract

A meter-scale model of the fibrous 1CGD molecule, a synthetic collagen-like peptide, was modeled and manufactured for educational use. We chose to model and manufacture the 1CGD molecule because collagen is of biological importance, the molecular coordinates are well-established, and because the molecular structure and geometry of 1 CGD are representative of many general concepts important to the study of proteins. The 1CGD molecule consists of three polypeptide chains. Our model is three separately manufactured chains intertwined with one another after manufacture. The A chain of the 1 CGD molecule was first modeled using the SolidWorks computer aided drawing (CAD) software. The CAD model was then converted to a file that enabled us to manufacture a master part via a three-dimensional printing (3DP) process available from Z Corporation. The 3DP master part was used to manufacture a room temperature vulcanized (RTV) brush-on blanket mold and rigid plaster mother mold. The mold, created by artist Bob Shure at Skylight Studios, was then used to cast parts using a two component liquid plastic that cures to a solid material. The parting lines of the final parts were cleaned up and the final parts painted to complete the model. This thesis details the specifics of the manufacturing requirements, constraints, attempts, and ultimate process used to make a functional 1 CGD model.