Related papers: Mechanical resistance in unstructured proteins
Protein fibril accumulation at interfaces is an important step in many physiological processes and neurodegenerative diseases as well as in designing materials. Here we show, using $\beta$-lactoglobulin fibrils as a model, that semiflexible…
We investigate the effect of macromolecular crowding on protein folding, using purely repulsive crowding particles and a self-organizing polymer model of protein folding. We find that the thermodynamics of folding for typical alpha-, beta-…
We study the two-filament insulin fibril's structure by incorporating recent simulation results and mechanical measurements. Our investigation suggests that the persistence length measurement correlates well with the previously proposed…
The self-assembly of proteins into $\beta$-sheet-rich amyloid fibrils has been observed to occur with sigmoidal kinetics, indicating that the system initially is trapped in a metastable state. Here, we use a minimal lattice-based model to…
We consider mechanically generated molecular braids composed of two molecules where long range interactions between them can be considered to be very weak. We describe a model that takes account of the thermal fluctuations of the braid,…
Small mechanical forces play important functional roles in many crucial cellular processes, including in the dynamical behavior of the cytoskeleton and in the regulation of osmotic pressure through membrane-bound proteins. Molecular…
We solve a model that takes into account entropic barriers, frustration, and the organization of a protein-like molecule. For a chain of size $M$, there is an effective folding transition to an ordered structure. Without frustration, this…
Rigidity analysis using the "pebble game" can usefully be applied to protein crystal structures to obtain information on protein folding, assembly and the structure-function relationship. However, previous work using this technique has not…
We study the crushing strength of brittle materials whose internal structure (e.g., mineral particles or graining) presents a layered arrangement reminiscent of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Taking a discrete-element approach, we probe…
Contractile forces are essential for many developmental processes involving cell shape change and tissue deformation. Recent experiments on reconstituted actomyosin networks, the major component of the contractile machinery, have shown that…
$\alpha$-helices stand out as common and relatively invariant secondary structural elements of proteins. However, $\alpha$-helices are not rigid bodies and their deformations can be significant in protein function ({\it e.g.} coiled coils).…
Polyampholytes (PA) are charged polymers composed of positively and negatively charged monomers along their backbone. The sequence of the charged monomers and the bending of the chain significantly influence the conformation and dynamical…
Analysis of bond rupture data from single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments commonly relies on the strong assumption that the bond dissociation process is irreversible. However, with increased spatiotemporal resolution of instruments…
Learning how proteins fold will hardly have any impact in the way conventional -- active site centered -- drugs are designed. On the other hand, this knowledge is proving instrumental in defining a new paradigm for the identification of…
As an example of topic where biology and physics meet, we present the issue of protein folding and stability, and the development of thermodynamics-based bioinformatics tools that predict the stability and thermal resistance of proteins and…
In this paper we report, clarify and broaden various recent efforts to complement the chemistry-centered models of force generation in muscles by mechanics-centered models. The physical mechanisms of interest can be grouped into two…
In this work, we study the mechanics of metamaterial sheets inspired by the pellicle of Euglenids. They are composed of interlocking elastic rods which can freely slide along their edges. We characterize the kinematics and the mechanics of…
Single-molecule force spectroscopy has opened a new field of research in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Pulling experiments on individual proteins permit us to monitor conformational transitions with high temporal resolution and…
The essential features of the in vitro refolding of myoglobin are expressed in a solvable physical model. Alpha helices are taken as the fundamental collective coordinates of the system, while the refolding is assumed to be mainly driven by…
Assessing the structural properties of large proteins is important to gain an understanding of their function in, e.g., biological systems or biomedical applications. We propose a method to examine the mechanical properties of proteins…