Regensburg 2007 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 26: Poster Session II
BP 26.33: Poster
Thursday, March 29, 2007, 17:00–19:30, Poster B
Failure of Viral Shells — William S. Klug1, Robijn F. Bruinsma1, Jean-Pilippe Michel1, Charles M. Knobler1, Irena L. Ivanovska2, Gijs J.L. Wuite2, and •Christoph F. Schmidt2,3 — 1University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA — 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 Amsterdam, — 3III. Physikalisches Institut, Fakultät für Physik, Georg-August Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
We report a combined theoretical and experimental study of the structural failure of viral shells under mechanical stress. We find that discontinuities in the force-indentation curve associated with failure should appear when the so-called Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) number exceeds a critical value. A nano-indentation study of a viral shell subject to a soft-mode instability, where the stiffness of the shell decreases with increasing pH, confirms the predicted onset of failure as a function of the FvK number.