Biology and Materials? Part II

Extract

The October issue of the MRS Bulletin focused on two areas of research in biomolecular materials; biomineralization and protein fibers. In addition, the development of a new carbohydrate-based material with a variety of novel properties was discussed.

In this issue, we turn to two other types of materials based on biological systems: (1) polymers and other materials produced through enzyme-catalyzed biosynthetic reactions and (2) protein and lipid complexes based on biological membrane structures. In each case, as in the October issue, a discussion of how Nature produces and uses these materials is followed by reports describing manipulations of these systems to enhance their properties for nonbiological applications.

In the October issue, Kaplan and Cappello discussed in detail the synthesis of proteins. They described how living organisms expend a very large fraction of their energy producing these polymers to grow and repair damage to their bodies. (The other major fraction of their energy is dedicated to maintenance of brain function). Synthesis of carbohydrates, lipids, and other materials, however, is achieved through a somewhat more complex process. The organism outlines a pathway that consists of a sequence of reactions; each reaction converts a substrate-the product of the preceding reaction-to a product which is the substrate for the next reaction. The net result of the action of the pathway is the conversion of a nutrient to a useful material, often of far different chemical structure.