Research report 2009 - Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart site
Protein Mechanics - from Force Sensors to Tough Materials
Authors
Gräter, Frauke
Departments
Protein Mechanik und Evolution (Dr. Frauke Gräter)
MPI für Metallforschung, Stuttgart
Summary
All living organisms adapt to mechanical forces by sophisticated mechanisms, with proteins being the major players. What are the design principles that enable proteins and biomaterials to respond to mechanical forces? Nature has come up with solutions handling a wide range of conditions, such as those in tensed muscle, flowing blood or stretched silk fibers. New approaches based on high-performance simulations increasingly help to reveal and engineer the force-carrying and force-sensing building blocks in these biological systems and materials.