The development of the Technion researchers is expected to speed up, optimize and reduce industrial processes of polymer production as well
Researchers from two faculties at the Technion present a new strategy for measuring mechanical forces in biological processes. The study published in-Journal of the American Chemical Society Led by Prof. Yehoshua Grolman and Yifan Liu from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering in collaboration with Prof. Charles Dizendrock from the Shulich Faculty of Chemistry. Mechanobiology is a field of research that deals with the effect of mechanical forces on various biological processes. Measuring these forces at the molecular level is a complex challenge, And the development of the Technion researchers is expected to allow measurements that were not possible before Various mechanobiology, which have evolved over vast periods of time, demonstrate high efficiency in the "translation" of mechanical forces into biological signals. These natural systems provide great inspiration for engineering developments, but it is very difficult to imitate their level of precision in artificial systems, especially at the molecular level. Therefore, breakthroughs In this field, they are very important in many contexts, including the transfer of drugs within the body, monitoring defects in the material and developing self-repairing materials.
The technology developed at the Technion is based on mechanophores - molecular units that, when a structural change is imposed on them, for example through pressure or stretching, they produce chemical or physical signals. The measurement of these signals, which provides information on the state of the material, is a very complex technological challenge, especially when high sensitivity is required in the measurement. The technology developed by the researchers is characterized by a very high sensitivity compared to previous uses of mechano-holes and also responds to a voltage of only 5% - which makes it very relevant in various biological processes whose monitoring has not been possible until now. This technique is relevant to a variety of biological and artificial materials. The Technion researchers succeeded in producing a force-sensitive material from a molecule called spiropyran, thus creating a kind of molecular detector that provides information about the mechanical forces in the material. The required process is a click chemistry process, meaning it does not require multi-step processes and does not involve unwanted by-products.
The new strategy, called Dip-conjugate, is demonstrated in an article on the analysis of the wool fibers of the alpaca - an animal from the camel family, which is especially common in South America. The advantage of this technology is that it is applicable to both synthetic and natural materials, including materials made from proteins and carbohydrates. The researchers estimate that in the industrial field this technology will contribute to speeding up and cheapening the production processes of mechano-holes in polymers. In addition to the biological applications, the researchers note that "the materials we have developed may turn many biological and artificial materials into sensors with extraordinary sensitivity. They may also be used to coat aircraft components, so that they warn of emerging failures in these components."
The research was supported by the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and the National Science Foundation (ISF).
for the article inJournal of the American Chemical Society
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