Abstract
We investigate the entropic force-elongation behavior of a polymer chain in the presence of the sacrificial bond and hidden length (SBHL) system observed experimentally in many biomaterials. We show that in most cases the SBHL system leads to a significant increase in toughness. However, the presence of a large number of bonds or relatively strong bonds in the SBHL system can reduce the net gain in toughness. We also incorporate the polymer model into a network of polymers with random properties (e.g., contour length, number and strength of sacrificial bonds, length of hidden loops). This allows us to derive a physically-based mesoscopic force-displacement law that governs the collective behavior.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Algorithms
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Biomechanical Phenomena
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Computer Simulation
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Microscopy, Atomic Force
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Models, Theoretical
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Polymers / chemistry*
Grants and funding
This work was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies through contract no. W911NF-09-0001 from the U.S. Army Research Office. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.