Biomimetic Blades: Mincing with Less Mineral

描述(由申请人提供)： 牙釉质和牙本质是脊椎动物的主要材料，具有硬度和耐磨性。这些材料的卓越性能对适当的摄取营养是至关重要的适应，当因腐烂或损伤而受损时，对有效的修复构成许多基本和技术挑战。在多毛类蠕虫中，如甘油和Nereis，牙齿状的颌骨具有与釉质相当的耐磨性；然而，这是在矿化(Glycera)十分之一或根本没有矿化(Nereis)的情况下实现的。我们相信，这些主要是蛋白质类的颌骨为生物相容性耐磨材料的设计提供了重要的见解。在初步研究的基础上，我们建议证明特定的蛋白质/聚合物可以通过矿化、金属离子螯合或两者兼而有之地硬化和增韧。在这个以发现为导向的方案中，我们的目标是使用质谱学、分子生物学、X射线分析和纳米压痕对颌骨进行最先进的化学、结构和机械表征。严格的工程学原理将应用于颌骨的分析，以提炼出一套关于结构和磨损之间关系的仿生规则。化学、微结构和力学性能之间的显著相关性将被用来指导将含His的共聚物制备成含铜或锌离子的硬膜。这项研究的主要健康益处将是对具有优异硬度和耐磨性的轻质替代材料的洞察。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tooth enamel and dentin are the premier materials in vertebrates for hardness and abrasion resistance. The superb properties of these materials are vital adaptations for proper ingestion nutrition and, when compromised through decay or injury, pose many fundamental and technical challenges to effective restoration. In polychaete worms such as Glycera and Nereis, the tooth-like jaws have a resistance to wear that is comparable to enamel; however, this is accomplished with a tenth as much mineralization (Glycera) or no mineralization at all (Nereis). We believe that these mainly proteinaceous jaws offer important insights into the design of biocompatible wear-resistant materials. Based on preliminary studies, we propose to demonstrate that specific proteins/polymers can be hardened and toughened by mineralization, metal ion chelation, or both. Our aim in this discovery-driven proposal is a state-of-the-art chemical, structural and mechanical characterization of the jaws using mass spectrometry, molecular biology, X-ray analysis and nanoindentation. Rigorous engineering principles will be applied to the analysis of jaws to distill a set of biomimetic rules regarding the relationship between structure and wear. Significant correlations between the chemical, microstructural and mechanical properties will be used to direct the preparation of His-containing copolymers into hard films containing Cu or Zn ions. The chief health benefits of this research will be insights about lightweight replacement materials with superior hardness and abrasion resistance.