Where does whelk egg capsule biopolymer (WECB) fit in?
There have been numerous competing attempts over the past 30+ years to construct a model that describes the important contributing factors to the mechanical properties of hard alpha-keratin (Feughelman, 1959; Chapman, 1969; Feughelman, 1979; Wortmann and Zahn, 1994; Hearle, 2000). One important question is how matrix and IFs each contribute to the mechanical properties. These models were revisited (Fudge and Gosline, 2004) and the compelling argument, based on examination of a matrix-free IF analog (hagfish slime threads), was presented that the matrix limits hydration of IFs, thus regulating water’s role as a plasticizer; this in turn leads directly to the observed stress-strain responses. Furthermore, this `matrix squeeze’ hypothesis (Fudge and Gosline, 2004) is based on the presence of covalent disulfide crosslinks that appear to function in IF-IF, matrix-IF and inter-IF roles. It is thought that crosslinks, in binding matrix together with IFs, restrict the hydration of IFs, which i
