Insulin!

Insulin – Vital to mammalian life as we know it!

A small protein/peptide hormone synthesised in the pancreas, as a regulator of glucose uptake, insulin is critical for normal metabolism.

As a printing project, the ribbon model of the monomer of insulin was selected as another test in terms of printing complex macromolecular models. Albeit a “relatively simple” 30 amino acid peptide.

The model above was downloaded as an STL from Thingiverse.com ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:197731) and based on the Protein Data Bank model (4INS porcine insulin, available at RCSB.org, Baker et al. (1988)
The structure of 2Zn pig insulin crystals at 1.5 A resolution. Philos.Trans.R.Soc.London,Ser.B 319: 369-456).

The model was oriented and supports were generated in Meshmixer 2 (45degree angle limit). The re-exported STL was sliced in Slic3r at 0.4mm layers, 15% infill and printed in snazzy red PLA on a RepRapPro Ormerod.

What molecule should be printed next?