New molecular model for the long-range elasticity of elastin.

Abstract

THE traditional type of elastomer consists of a random network of kinetically free chains linked together by means of stable cross-links: in the case of vulcanized Hevea rubber by sulphur bridges and in the case of the elastic insect protein, resilin, by di- and tri-tyrosine residues1. The elastic force is caused by the random thermal agitation of the chains whose configurational entropy decreases with strain, while the changes in internal energy remain negligible. Some problems posed by the elastic behaviour of elastin, however, have led us to consider a fundamentally different type of elastomer.