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Preliminary Characterization of Resilin Isolated from the Cockroach, Periplaneta Americana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Elizabeth Craig Lombardi  and
David L. Kaplan
Elizabeth Craig Lombardi
Affiliation:
Biotechnology Division U.S. Army Natick Research Development and Engineering Center Natick, Massachusetts 01760-5020
David L. Kaplan
Affiliation:
Biotechnology Division U.S. Army Natick Research Development and Engineering Center Natick, Massachusetts 01760-5020
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Abstract

We would like to mimic the mechanical properties of animal systems for the development of novel materials. Insect cuticle serves as one source of inspiration for the design of these materials. Cuticle is composed of chitin embedded in a protein matrix which may also contain plasticizers, fillers, crosslinkers, and minerals. The specific properties of the cuticle depend on the type, amount and interactions between each component. We are renewing the investigation of the elastic cuticle, resilin. Resilin, a protein-based elastomer first described in the early 1960s, has properties which have been reported to be most like those of ideal rubbers. We have examined resilin isolated from the prealar arms of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. The results of amino acid analysis are in good agreement with earlier data reported for resilin. A series of tryptic fragments have been isolated and sequenced. These peptides have been used for the design of oligonucleotide probes for the identification of the gene(s) from a teneral cockroach cDNA library. A biopolymer, based on one tryptic fragment, has been designed and synthesized. We are continuing to treat resilin with residue specific proteases in order to map the resilin protein.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 292: Symposium S – Biomolecular Materials , 1992 , 3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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