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Engineering Aqueous Fiber Assembly into Silk‐Elastin‐Like Protein Polymers
Author(s) -
Zeng Like,
Jiang Linan,
Teng Weibing,
Cappello Joseph,
Zohar Yitshak,
Wu Xiaoyi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201400058
Subject(s) - silk , elastin , nanofiber , materials science , polymer , nanoscopic scale , aqueous solution , globular protein , polymer chemistry , self assembly , polymer science , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , crystallography , organic chemistry , pathology , engineering , medicine
Self‐assembled peptide/protein nanofibers are valuable 1D building blocks for creating complex structures with designed properties and functions. It is reported that the self‐assembly of silk‐elastin‐like protein polymers into nanofibers or globular aggregates in aqueous solutions can be modulated by tuning the temperature of the protein solutions, the size of the silk blocks, and the charge of the elastin blocks. A core‐sheath model is proposed for nanofiber formation, with the silk blocks in the cores and the hydrated elastin blocks in the sheaths. The folding of the silk blocks into stable cores—affected by the size of the silk blocks and the charge of the elastin blocks—plays a critical role in the assembly of silk‐elastin nanofibers. Furthermore, enhanced hydrophobic interactions between the elastin blocks at elevated temperatures greatly influence the nanoscale features of silk‐elastin nanofibers.