Abstract
WE describe experiments in which the mechanical state of elastin was determined in conditions comparable to those used by Weis-Fogh and Anderson1,2. In their mechanocalorimetric experiments a strain was imposed on a specimen immersed in diluent in a calorimeter, maintained for several hundred seconds, and then released. Measurements of heat release led them to reject the classical theory of rubber elasticity3–6 which, for solvated elastin, they replaced by a new model, the liquiddrop elastomer. There is, however, good evidence that in neglecting the differential heat of solution Weis-Fogh and Anderson neglected a dominant source of heat release7,8. Our purpose is to examine the alternative assumption, that elastin conforms to the classical theory of rubber elasticity in the experimental conditions they studied.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Weis-Fogh, T., and Anderson, S. O., Chemistry and Molecular Biology of the Inter-cellular Matrix, (edit. by Balazs, E. A.), 1, 671 (Academic Press, London 1970).
Weis-Fogh, T., and Anderson, S. O., Nature, 227, 718 (1970).
Flory, P. J., Principles of Polymer Chemistry (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1953).
Hoeve, C. A. J., and Flory, P. J., J. Am. chem. Soc., 80, 6523 (1958).
Hoeve, C. A. J., and Flory, P. J., J. Polym. Sci., 60, 155 (1962).
Mistrali, F., Volpin, D., Garibaldo, B. B., and Ciferri, A., J. phys. Chem., 75, 142 (1971).
Hoeve, C. A. J., and Flory, P. J., Biopolymers, 13, 677 (1974).
Grut, W., and McCrum, N. G., Nature, 251, 165 (1974).
Gotte, L., Stern, P., Elsden, D. S., and Partridge, S. M., Biochem. J., 87, 344 (1963).
McCrum, N. G., Read, B. E., and Williams, G., Anelastic and Dielectric Effects in Polymeric Solids (Wiley, London, 1967).
Smith, K. J., in Polymer Science (edit. by Jenkins, A. D.) Ch. 5 (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1972).
Tobolsky, A. V., Properties and Structure of Polymers, (Wiley, New York, 1960).
Ferry, J. D., Viscoelastic Properties of Polymers (Wiley, New York, 1961).
Theocaris, P. S., and Hadjijoseph, Chr., Kolloidzeitschrift, 202, 133 (1965).
Theocaris, P. S., Kolloidzeitschrift, 235, 1182 (1969).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
DORRINGTON, K., GRUT, W. & McCRUM, N. Mechanical state of elastin. Nature 255, 476–478 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/255476a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/255476a0
This article is cited by
-
Optical properties of single elastin fibres indicate random protein conformation
Nature (1980)
-
The bulk modulus of solvated elastin
Journal of Materials Science (1976)
