AI Article Synopsis
- The study introduces a neo-Hookean elasticity theory for hybrid mechano-active hydrogels by incorporating motor proteins into polymer structures, leading to materials that actively soften due to adjustable chain overlaps.
- The focus is on polyacrylamide hydrogels enhanced with the bacterial protein FtsZ, using a multiscale model that combines microscopic rubber mesh theory, mesoscopic scaling concepts, and phase transition formalism to explain the observed active softening.
- This research provides valuable insights for designing and controlling complex active hydrogels, potentially advancing applications in technology and biomedicine.
Article Abstract
We present a neo-Hookean elasticity theory for hybrid mechano-active hydrogels, integrating motor proteins into polymer meshes to create composite materials with active softening due to modulable chain overlaps. Focusing on polyacrylamide (PA) hydrogels embedded with FtsZ, a bacterial cytokinetic protein powered by GTP, we develop a multiscale model using microscopic Flory theory of rubbery meshes through mesoscopic De Gennes' scaling concepts for meshwork dynamics and phenomenological Landau's formalism for second-order phase transitions. Our theoretical multiscale model explains the active softening observed in hybrid FtsZ-PA hydrogels by incorporating modulable meshwork dynamics, such as overlapping functionality and reptation dynamics, into an active mean-field of unbinding interactions. The novel FtsZ-based metamaterial and companion multiscale theory offer insights for designing, predicting, and controlling complex active hydrogels, with potential applications in technology and biomedicine.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4sm00839a | DOI Listing |
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