Naslov
Shapes and energetics of bucky-assemblies

Autori
Šiber, Antonio

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Christmas Biophysics Workshop 2006

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 18.12.2006

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Pozvano predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
Fullerene; Virus; Caspar-Klug principle; triangulation; icosahedron; elasticity

Sažetak
The icosadeltahedral design, usually attributed to Buckminster Fuller due to his constructions of geodesic domes, is found to be one of the hallmarks of shapes at the nanometer scale. Probably the best known examples are carbon icosahedral fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. A large portion of viruses also exhibits the icosadeltahedral design known in the literature as the Caspar-Klug quasiequivalent construction. Clathrin protein assemblies also clearly display the patterns of pentagons and hexagons which is a common characteristics of all the bucky-shapes. For a nanoscientist, it is certainly interesting to see how this pattern emerges from the microscopic interactions between the elementary constituents of the shape (carbon atoms or proteins) - this could open the path to construction of bottom-up, self-assembling structures (as viruses apparently are). I shall discuss some results regarding the energetics of bucky-assemblies. I shall show how the elementary application of the theory of elasticity can help in this respect, and how it can be profitably applied both to generalized fullerenes and viruses. A very concrete result of the study is hopefully reliable estimate of the elastic parameters (Young's modulus and bending rigidity) of viral protein coatings (capsids).

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Fizika, Kemija, Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA