title: Plasticity of two structural proteins: alpha-collagen and beta-keratin.
abstract: Although the microstructures of Type-I collagen in bone and F-keratin in avian feathers are very different, their plastic behaviour is similar. In both plasticity is thermally activated, with the activation enthalpy H=1.1 eV in bone and 1.75 eV in feather. The activation volumes are v=0.6 nm3 in bone and v=0.83 nm3 in feather. This indicates that the rate controlling process in both is the breaking of electrostatic bonds.
authors.affiliation: INM–Leibniz Institute for New Materials gGmbH, D-66123 Saarbruecken, Germany. ingrid.weiss@inm-gmbh.de
authors.forename: Ingrid M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Helmut O K
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Kirchner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D053800:beta-Keratins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053800:beta-Keratins; D003094:Collagen