Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Adv Mater. 2016 Aug;28(31):6546-61. doi: 10.1002/adma.201505961. Epub 2016 May 11.
Proteinaceous materials based on the amyloid core structure have recently been discovered at the origin of biological functionality in a remarkably diverse set of roles, and attention is increasingly turning towards such structures as the basis of artificial self-assembling materials. These roles contrast markedly with the original picture of amyloid fibrils as inherently pathological structures. Here we outline the salient features of this class of functional materials, both in the context of the functional roles that have been revealed for amyloid fibrils in nature, as well as in relation to their potential as artificial materials. We discuss how amyloid materials exemplify the emergence of function from protein self-assembly at multiple length scales. We focus on the connections between mesoscale structure and material function, and demonstrate how the natural examples of functional amyloids illuminate the potential applications for future artificial protein based materials.
基于淀粉样核心结构的蛋白质材料最近在一系列具有显著差异的生物学功能中被发现，而人们对这些结构的关注也越来越多，认为它们是人工自组装材料的基础。这些作用与淀粉样纤维作为固有病理结构的最初概念形成鲜明对比。在这里，我们概述了这一类功能材料的显著特征，既包括在自然中发现的淀粉样纤维的功能作用方面，也包括在其作为人工材料的潜在应用方面。我们讨论了淀粉样物质如何在多个尺度上从蛋白质自组装中体现功能的出现。我们重点讨论了介观结构和材料功能之间的联系，并展示了功能性淀粉样蛋白的天然实例如何为未来基于人工蛋白质的材料的潜在应用提供了启示。
