Berlin 2015 – wissenschaftliches Programm
Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 9: Biomaterials and Biopolymers I (joint BP/CPP)
BP 9.7: Vortrag
Montag, 16. März 2015, 16:15–16:30, EB 202
Scaling with persistence length: Expanding the accessible phase space of semi-flexible polymer networks via DNA tubes — •Carsten Schuldt1,2, Jessica Lorenz2, Jörg Schnauß1, Tina Händler1, Martin Glaser1, Josef A. Käs1, and David M. Smith2 — 1University of Leipzig, Soft Matter Physics Division, Leipzig, Germany — 2Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany
Biologically evolved materials are often used as inspiration in both the development of new materials as well as examinations of underlying physical principles governing their general behavior. One prominent example is actin and its set of accessory proteins. However, a major limitation lies in the molecular toolbox provided by naturally occurring biological systems. The inability to deterministically modulate or ``program'' basic properties such as stiffness or interaction strengths hinders a meticulous examination of the parameter space, and the subsequent potential for developing new classes of materials.
We overcome these limitations emplyoing model systems assembled from programmable nanomaterials such as DNA. Nanotubes with similar dimensions and mechanical properties as actin filaments can be constructed from small sets of specially designed DNA strands. Properties such as stiffness and inter-filament attraction (i.e. crosslinking) can be controlled through the design of a particular set of DNA strands. Forming networks from these semi-flexible polymers, we test established theories with respect to these parameters for the first time.