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Sheena's Project Page - RISE summer 2003 |
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Intern: Sheena Ramdeen, Brandeis Univsrsity
Mentor: Jason Sagert
Faculty Supervisor: Herbert Waite
Department: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology |
THE EFFECTS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MUSSEL BYSSAL THREAD
In order to survive in the intertidal zones, marine mussels produce byssal
threads that keep them secured to rocky substrata and protect against the waves’
incessant pounding. Mussel byssus possesses mechanical properties, most
importantly shock absorbency and self-healing, that could potentially be used
in a variety of industrial and medical applications. Past research has
indicated a significant difference between the self-healing ability of wild
threads and that of cultured threads. As such, the goal of this project was
to determine if said differences are due to oxidative aging. Cultured threads
were treated for 24h in filtered seawater solutions of sodium periodate,
tyrosinase, and hydrogen peroxide, as well as subjected to agitation at 200rpm
in filtered seawater for 48h. Following each treatment, the threads were
pulled to 35% strain using the MTS Bionix 200 to determine how the mechanical
properties had changed. Subsequently, treated threads underwent amino acid
analysis to ascertain how oxidation affected their biochemistry. Only the
periodate treatment produced any apparent effect, decreasing both the threads’
initial modulus and hysteresis, as well as eliminating the otherwise well
defined yield point. However, further biochemical testing is necessary to
determine why only periodate had a significant effect on the threads.
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