Networks of helix-forming polymers

Abstract

Biological molecules can form hydrogen bonds between nearby residues, leading to helical secondary structures. The associated reduction of configurational entropy leads to a temperature dependence of this effect: the "helix-coil transition". Since the formation of helices implies a dramatic shortening of the polymer dimensions, an externally imposed end-to-end distance R affects the equilibrium helical fraction of the polymer and the resulting force- extension curves show anomalous plateau regimes. In this article, we investigate the behaviour of a cross-linked network of such helicogenic molecules, particularly, focusing on the coupling of the (average) helical content present in a network to the externally imposed strain. We show that both an elongation and compression can lead to an increase in helical domains under appropriate conditions.

Latex, 17 pages, 11 figures, final version

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Mechanically induced helix-coil transition in biopolymer networks
• Interplay between shear loading and structural aging in a physical gel
• Nonlinear Elasticity, Fluctuations and Heterogeneity of Nematic Elastomers
• Glass-like dynamics of the strain-induced coil/helix transition on a permanent polymer network
• Two-step build-up of a thermoreversible polymer network: From early local to late collective dynamics