Single Fibril Mechanics

描述（由申请人提供）： 这个探索性的R21建议是建立一个新的微机电系统（MEMS）设备的胶原纤维的机械性能的直接测量。通常，这些性质是从更大规模的测量中推断出来的，产生的结果依赖于模型，这使得很难从更高层次的结构-功能关系中区分出纳米尺度。所提出的设备是一个现有的MEMS设备的修改，最初设计用于测试硅材料在微尺度。我们已经修改了该装置的设计，用于具有较低模量的较小样本。该设备填补了用于测量单分子的皮牛顿级技术与用于研究微米至毫米尺寸样品的市售毫牛顿设备之间的空白。我们小组将主要使用该机器来测试与骨相关的胶原纤维。然而，我们期望该装置将在从肌腱和韧带到软骨和骨的组织中的细胞外基质纤维的研究中具有广泛的适用性。具体目标 1.设计和制造用于测试纳米纤维的微机电系统（MEMS） 2.开发和实施将纳米纤维连接到MEMS器件的协议 3.使用胶原纤维的试验器械和方案。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This exploratory R21 proposal is to build a novel microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device for direct measurement of the mechanical properties of a collagen fibril. Usually these properties are inferred from larger scale measurements' yielding model dependent results and making it difficult to sort out nanoscale from higher level structure-function relationships. The proposed device is a modification of an existing MEMS device originally designed to test silicon materials at the microscale. We have modified the design of the device for use with smaller specimens having lower moduli. The device fills in a gap between the piconewton level techniques used to measure single molecules and the millinewton devices commercially available for the study of micron to millimeter sized samples. Our group's use of the machine will be primarily to test collagen fibrils relevant to bone. However, we expect the device will have wide applicability in the study of extracellular matrix fibrils in tissues ranging from tendon and ligament to cartilage and bone. Specific Aims 1. Design and fabricate a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) useful for testing nanofibrils 2. Develop and implement protocols for attaching nanofibrils to MEMS device 3. Test device and protocols using collagen fibrils.