On the inverse temperature transition and development of an entropic elastomeric force of the elastin mimetic peptide [LGGVG](3, 7).

We report on a molecular dynamics simulation based study of the thermal and mechanical properties of the elastin mimetic peptide [LGGVG](n) (n = 3, 7). Our findings indicate that this peptide undergoes an inverse temperature transition as the temperature is raised from ~20 °C to 42 °C. The thermal behavior is similar to what has been observed in other well studied short mimetic peptides of elastin. Both [LGGVG](n) (n = 3, 7) peptides exhibit an increase in the number of side chain contacts and peptide-peptide hydrogen bonds when the temperature is raised from ~20 °C to 42 °C. These observations are accompanied by a decrease in the number of proximal water molecules and number of peptide-water hydrogen bonds. This work also reports on a comparison of the thermal and mechanical properties of [LGGVG](3) and [VPGVG](3) and quantifies the interaction with surrounding waters of hydration under mechanically strained conditions. It is demonstrated, via a quasi-harmonic approach, that both model peptides exhibit a reduction in the population of low-frequency modes and an increase in population of high-frequency modes upon elongation. The shift in population of frequency modes causes the peptide entropy to decrease upon elongation and is responsible for the development of an entropic force that gives rise to elasticity. These observations are in disagreement with a previously published notion that model elastin peptides, such as [VPGVG](18), increase in entropy upon elongation.

NMR studies of localized water and protein backbone dynamics in mechanically strained elastin.

We report on measurements of the dynamics of localized waters of hydration and the protein backbone of elastin, a remarkable resilient protein found in vertebrate tissues, as a function of the applied external strain. Using deuterium 2D T(1)-T(2) NMR, we separate four reservoirs in the elastin-water system characterized by water with distinguishable mobilities. The measured correlation times corresponding to random tumbling of water localized to the protein is observed to decrease with increasing strain and is interpreted as an increase in its orientational entropy. The NMR T(1) and T(1ρ) relaxation times of the carbonyl and aliphatic carbons of the protein backbone are measured and indicate a reduction in the correlation time as the elastomer strain is increased. It is argued, and supported by MD simulation of a short model elastin peptide [VPGVG](3), that the observed changes in the backbone dynamics give rise to the development of an entropic elastomeric force that is responsible for elastins' remarkable elasticity.