Theory of mechanochemical phenomena in molecular and bio-molecular systems

Dmitrii E. Makarov获得了化学部门化学理论、模型和计算方法项目的奖励，他开发和使用计算机模拟和理论来研究生物和合成分子系统中机械和化学现象之间的耦合。研究重点是新型机械敏感分子系统的合理设计，机械应力生物分子的多维自由能景观表征，以及蛋白质耗散现象理论。该奖项由材料研究部凝聚态物质和材料理论项目共同资助。这项研究促进了我们对生物体中机械和化学力之间相互作用的理解，这种相互作用解释了组织和骨骼的结构完整性，使生物体能够防御各种疾病，并且是许多重要生物现象的核心。这可能会进一步影响具有独特机械性能的新型聚合物和生物聚合物材料的自下而上设计。

Dmitrii E. Makarov is supported by an award from the Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods program in the Chemistry division to develop and employ computer simulations and theory to study the coupling between mechanical and chemical phenomena in biological and synthetic molecular systems. The research focuses on rational design of novel mechano-sensitive molecular systems, characterization of multidimensional free energy landscapes of mechanically stressed biomolecules, and theory of dissipative phenomena in proteins. The award is cofunded by the Condensed Matter and Materials Theory program in the Division of Materials Research.This research advances our understanding of the interplay between mechanical and chemical forces in living organisms, which accounts for structural integrity of tissues and bone, enables organisms' defense against various diseases and lies at the heart of many vital biological phenomena. It may further impact bottom-up design of novel polymeric and bio-polymeric materials with unique mechanical properties.