Thickness–radius relationship and spring constants of cholesterol helical ribbons
- 15 September 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 106 (37), 15663-15666
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0907795106
Abstract
Using quantitative phase microscopy, we have discovered a quadratic relationship between the radius R and the thickness t of helical ribbons that form spontaneously in multicomponent cholesterol–surfactant mixtures. These helical ribbons may serve as mesoscopic springs to measure or to exert forces on nanoscale biological objects. The spring constants of these helices depend on their submicroscopic thickness. The quadratic relationship (R ∝ t2) between radius and thickness is a consequence of the crystal structure of the ribbons and enables a determination of the spring constant of any of our helices solely in terms of its observable geometrical dimensions.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Tension-Induced Multistability in Inextensible Helical RibbonsPhysical Review Letters, 2008
- Structure of cholesterol helical ribbons and self-assembling biological springsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- Anomalous Coiling of SiGe/Si and SiGe/Si/Cr Helical NanobeltsNano Letters, 2006
- Fabrication and Characterization of Three-Dimensional InGaAs/GaAs NanospringsNano Letters, 2006
- Nanomechanical Architecture of Strained Bilayer Thin Films: From Design Principles to Experimental FabricationAdvanced Materials, 2005
- Conversion of Zinc Oxide Nanobelts into Superlattice-Structured NanohelicesScience, 2005
- Biliary cholesterol crystallization characterized by single-crystal cryogenic electron diffractionJournal of Lipid Research, 2005
- Stretching Instability of Helical SpringsPhysical Review Letters, 2003
- Tension-Induced Straightening Transition of Self-Assembled Helical RibbonsPhysical Review Letters, 2001
- Lipid Tubules: A Paradigm for Molecularly Engineered StructuresScience, 1993