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for Structural Mechanics of Viral Shells: Stretching Continuum Models to Their Limits

=William Klug, Ph.D.=

===Structural Mechanics of Viral Shells: Stretching Continuum Models to Their Limits===

As revealed by techniques of structural biology, the protein shells of viruses (capsids) are some of nature's most beautiful and robust examples of highly symmetric multiscale self-assembled structures.  The ability of viral capsids to respond structurally and mechanically to physical and chemical stimuli also gives them tremendous potential as components for the design of synthetic materials with adaptive properties, as has been demonstrated by the creation of virus-based nanowires. A series of recent indentation experiments using atomic force microscopy (AFM) has shown that capsids also possess impressive mechanical properties of strength and elasticity.  In this talk I will present some analytical and numerical models of viral capsids based on continuum mechanics and Ginzburg-Landau theory, and I will discuss what we've learned about (1) the elastic response and mechanical failure of viral capsids, (2) coupling of global capsid mechanical response to local protein conformational change, and (3) the role of mechanics in capsid self-assembly.  Lastly I will describe our ongoing efforts to push the limits of usefulness of continuum theory via coupled continuum-atomistic multiscale modeling of capsids and other large protein assemblies.

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