文章基本信息

标题：Hierarchical chirality transfer in the growth of Towel Gourd tendrils
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作者：Jian-Shan Wang ; Gang Wang ; Xi-Qiao Feng 等
期刊名称：Scientific Reports
电子版ISSN：2045-2322
出版年度：2013
卷号：3
期号：1
DOI：10.1038/srep03102
语种：English
出版社：Springer Nature
摘要：Chirality plays a significant role in the physical properties and biological functions of many biological materials, e.g., climbing tendrils and twisted leaves, which exhibit chiral growth. However, the mechanisms underlying the chiral growth of biological materials remain unclear. In this paper, we investigate how the Towel Gourd tendrils achieve their chiral growth. Our experiments reveal that the tendrils have a hierarchy of chirality, which transfers from the lower levels to the higher. The change in the helical angle of cellulose fibrils at the subcellular level induces an intrinsic torsion of tendrils, leading to the formation of the helical morphology of tendril filaments. A chirality transfer model is presented to elucidate the chiral growth of tendrils. This present study may help understand various chiral phenomena observed in biological materials. It also suggests that chirality transfer can be utilized in the development of hierarchically chiral materials having unique properties.