Investigating the molecular mechanisms and mechanical properties of epithelial keratin and trichocyte keratin using multiscale modelling

Abstract

Establishing a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms and mechanical properties of materials can help improve engineering processes and also contribute to establishing a better understanding of diseases and how they can be treated. A better understanding of the exact structures and mechanisms of a material and how they affect a material's properties, can lead to the development of new, novel materials that can respond to societal needs. Assistant Professor Chia-Ching Chou, Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, is working to better understand the intricacies of materials by taking inspiration from nature, with a particular focus on two types of keratin. Chou and her team are using molecular modelling to investigate the molecular mechanisms and mechanical properties of epithelial keratin and trichocyte keratin. Trichocyte keratin, otherwise known as hair keratin, is durable and has had a number of applications in engineering for many years, while epithelial keratin, which is also known as skin keratin, cannot sustain the same load as hair keratin, but has a greater ability to be stretched, and is therefore of interest to the team. Chou and the team are investigating how the molecular compositions of trichocyte keratin and epithelial keratin affect the mechanical properties. To do this, the researchers are performing molecular dynamics simulation using atomistic and multiscale computational modelling, which allows them to explore the composition, structure and behaviour of keratin at the molecular level. Ultimately, the researchers want to determine how sequence and chemical bonding affect the microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic level properties of materials.