Training Allostery-Inspired Mechanical Response in Disordered Elastic Networks

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how disordered elastic networks can be trained to exhibit specific long-range mechanical responses inspired by allosteric interactions, using directed aging to modify their local couplings.

Contribution

It introduces a method to train disordered elastic networks to produce tunable, long-range responses inspired by allostery, combining experiments and simulations.

Findings

Directed aging modifies mechanical coupling between distant nodes.

Training induces coupling between previously isolated node pairs.

Experimental results align with simulation predictions.

Abstract

Disordered elastic networks are a model material system in which it is possible to achieve tunable and trainable functions. This work investigates the modification of local mechanical properties in disordered networks inspired by allosteric interactions in proteins: applying strain locally to a set of source nodes triggers a strain response at a distant set of target nodes. This is demonstrated first by using directed aging to modify the existing mechanical coupling between pairs of distant source and target nodes, and later as a means for inducing coupling between formerly isolated source-target pairs. The experimental results are compared with those predicted by simulations.