Chemists at UC San Diego have created an “adaptive protein crystal” with a counterintuitive and potentially useful property: When stretched in one direction, the material thickens in the perpendicular direction, rather than thinning as familiar materials do. And when squeezed in one dimension, it shrinks in the other rather than expanding, and gets denser in the process.
This strange behavior could prove useful for the sole of a running shoe that thickens for greater shock absorption as heel collides with pavement, for example, or to construct body armor that strengthens when a bullet strikes.
“It’s a property, called ‘auxetic,’ that has been not been previously demonstrated at the molecular level through design,” said Akif Tezcan, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego who headed a team of researchers that detailed its invention in an advance online paper in this week’s Nature.
Tezcan’s group created a sheet-like crystal made of proteins connected in a regular, repeating pattern. They chose a protein called RhuA for its square shape and used it like tiles to make their material.
“We found a way to create strong, flexible, reversible bonds to connect the protein tiles at their corners,” Tezcan said. The flexibility allows the tiles to rotate to open spaces for a porous material or to close up in a kind of adaptable sieve.
Stretching or compressing the material in one directions causes the connected protein tiles to rotate in unison, resulting in a corresponding expansion or contraction in the opposite directions. The Poisson ratio, usually a positive measure for normal materials that stretch and shrink in opposition, describes this relationship. Tezcan’s group measured a Poisson ratio of -1 for their material, a value at the thermodynamic limit of what is possible.
The crystals form perfectly with almost no tiles missing or ajar, and the material is self-healing. Protein tiles easily pop into place, given the right chemical conditions.
“This is protein design using a highly chemistry-based approach,” Tezcan said, noting that the materials are made via a streamlined, minimalistic design strategy that requires few alterations to the protein building blocks.
“These materials are very easy to make, yet provide many new research directions both in terms of materials applications and understanding the fundamental principles of nanoscale self-assembly,” he added.
Other authors of the paper include Yuta Suzuki in Tezcan’s research group, David Restrepo and Pablo Zavattieri of Purdue University, Timothy Baker, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and biology at UC San Diego, and Giovanni Cardone in Baker’s research group.
Learn more: ‘Adaptive Protein Crystal’ Could Form New Kind of Protective Material
The Latest on: Adaptive Protein Crystal
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Adaptive Protein Crystal” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Adaptive Protein Crystal
- Previous theory on how electrons move within protein nanocrystals might not apply in every caseon April 23, 2024 at 11:45 am
Researchers believe that understanding how electrons move within small, natural systems could power a more sustainable future for our energy grid.
- Global Protein Crystallization And Crystallography Industry on the Rise, Projected to Reach US$3.57 Billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 9.6% | FMIon April 17, 2024 at 11:02 am
The Global Protein Crystallization And Crystallography Industry is on the cusp of a transformative era, poised for remarkable growth in the coming years. According to industry forecasts, the market is ...
- 9 Best Protein Powders of 2024, According to Registered Dietitianson April 9, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Here’s our process. Healthline’s testers and dietitians reviewed and chose the best protein powders. See the top picks that made our list. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle ...
- 100 Grams of Protein: What It Actually Looks Like and How You Can Achieve It Dailyon April 6, 2024 at 9:00 am
Protein does more than build and repair muscle. It also regulates hormones, transports molecules, acts as an enzyme for chemical reactions and more. If you're not used to tracking or prioritizing ...
- Best Protein Powders Of 2024, According To Expertson April 1, 2024 at 9:18 am
Getting enough daily protein is important for your overall health, and if you’re having a hard time squeezing in the recommended amount, protein powders can help you easily increase your intake.
- 10 Best Vegan Protein Powders for 2024on March 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Here’s our process. The best vegan protein powders come from brands such as Optimum Nutrition, Naked, and True Nutrition. We have also tried protein powders from Transparent Labs and Ghost.
- The best protein bars - ranked by a nutritioniston October 11, 2023 at 6:45 pm
It seems that everyone – and we mean everyone – is talking about protein lately, and it's not just gym fanatics either. Just a quick scroll on TikTok is evidence of that we're all taking our ...
- Protein Crystal Image (IMAGE)on September 10, 2022 at 2:48 am
An example of a crystalline outcome from the high-throughput screening laboratory at Hauptman-Woodward. These are the types of images that will be used for feature extraction by the World ...
- Science writing prize winner: Using crystals to cure canceron August 8, 2021 at 10:39 pm
These are not crystals of minerals. These are crystals of proteins. Protein crystals are not a naturally occurring phenomenon. They are produced under highly controlled conditions in a laboratory.
- Protein Synthesison May 19, 2016 at 7:50 am
So how does protein synthesis make hair? If you've looked at the activity (or even the text version of the activity), you know how a section of DNA instructs a cell how to make a protein.
via Bing News