BIONETIC DESIGNS FOR FREE ENERGY TRANSDUCTION USING BIOELASTIC MATERIALS

LIVING ORGANISM THRIVE BY HAVING EVOLVED (1) MECHANISMS OF HIGH EFFICIENCY FOR THE INTERCONVERSION OF ENERGY AND (2) MATERIALS CAPABLE OF EXTRAORDINARY DURABILITY, E.G. THE ELASTIC FIBER OF THE AORTIC ARCH BEING CAPABLE OF SUSTAINING BILLIONS OF STRETCH/RELAXATION CYCLES. THESE PROPERTIES OF HIGH EFFICIENCY AND POTENTIAL DURABILITY ARE COMBINED IN SYNTHETIC ELASTIC PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS. THIS PROJECT IS BASED ON A NEW, EFFICIENT MECHANISM OF FREE ENERGY TRANSDUCTION IN WHICH A FOLDING/UNFOLDING TRANSITION IN ELASTIC PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS CAN BE CONTROLLED BY ANY OF THE INTENSIVE VARIABLES OF TEMPERATURE, PRESSURE, MECHANICAL FORCE, CHEMICAL POTENTIAL AND ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL. THE TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES ARE (1) TO DEMONSTRATE BAROMECHANICAL, BAROCHEMICAL AND BAROELECTRICAL TRANSDUCTION IN SYNTHETIC ELASTIC PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS, I. BY SYNTHESIS OF APPROPRIATE PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS, II. BY IDENTIFYING AND COUPLING APPROPRIATE REDOX COUPLES, III. BY CONSTRUCTION OF A TRANSPARENT PRESSURIZABLE CELL, AND IV. BY EQUIPPING THE PRESSURIZABLE CELL FOR POTENTIOMETRIC TITRATIONS, (2) TO MONITOR VISUALLY BAROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCTION IN THE TRANSPARENT PRESSURIZABLE CELL, AND (3) TO MONITOR PH CHANGES AND REDUCTION POTENTIAL CHANGES RESULTING FROM THE APPLICATION OF PRESSURE. THE FOUR DIFFERENT ELASTIC PROTEIN-BASED POLYMERS, UTILIZING AS ITS PRIMARY COMPONENT THE ELASTOMERIC POLYPEPTIDE, POLY(VAL-PRO-GLY-VAL-GLY), ARE TO BE PREPARED BY SOLUTION PEPTIDE CHEMISTRY GIVING RISE TO HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYMERS WHICH ARE TO BE Y-IRRADIATION CROSS-LINKED TO FORM ELASTOMERIC MATRICES AND STUDIED FOR THE ABOVE-NOTED TRANSDUCTIONAL PROPERTIES. A UNIFYING FREE ENERGY TRANSDUCTION MECHANISM, IN WHICH THE CENTRAL TRANSDUCTIONAL PROCESS IS REVERSIBLE HYDROPHOBIC FOLDING AND UNFOLDING IN AN AQUEOUS MILIEU OF DOMINANTLY ENTROPIC ELASTOMERS DERIVED FROM THE BIOLOGICAL ELASTIC FIBER, HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE REMARKABLE REVERSIBILITY FOR THERMOMECHANICAL TRANSDUCTION AND DESIGNED TO BE CAPABLE OF CHEMOMECHANICAL TRANSDUCTION OF HIGH EFFICIENCY.