Entry Date:
November 25, 2008

Nanomechanics of Collagen Fibrils

Principal Investigator Markus Buehler


Atomistic based hierarchical multiscale modeling of a complex biological composite material. Our hierarchical multi-scale simulation scheme enables us to develop a fundamental, atomistic based description of collagen.

Our molecular model of collagen is used to investigate several aspects related to collagen based tissues, including source of elasticity, fracture behavior, molecular origin of diseases, synthesis of synthetic collagen and the mechanics of mineralized tissue such as bone.