BIOFORGE (Group for Advanced Materials and Nanobiotechnology), University of Valladolid-CIBER-BBN, Paseo de Belén 19, Valladolid, 47011, Spain.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
Small. 2020 Dec;16(51):e2005191. doi: 10.1002/smll.202005191. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
The development of intricate and complex self-assembling structures in the micrometer range, such as biomorphs, is a major challenge in materials science. Although complex structures can be obtained from self-assembling materials as they segregate from solution, their size is usually in the nanometer range or requires accessory techniques. Previous studies with intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have shown that the active interplay of different molecular interactions provides access to new and more complex nanostructures. As such, it is hypothesized that enriching the variety of intra- and intermolecular interactions in a model IDP will widen the landscape of sophisticated intermediate structures that can be accessed. In this study, a model silk-elastin-like recombinamer capable of interacting via three non-covalent interactions, namely hydrophobic, ion-pairing, and H-bonding is built. This model material is shown to self-assemble into complex stable micrometer-sized biomorphs. Variation of the block composition, pH, and temperature demonstrates the necessary interplay of all three interactions for the formation of such complex structures.
在微米范围内开发复杂的自组装结构，如生物形态，是材料科学的主要挑战。尽管可以从自组装材料中获得复杂的结构，因为它们从溶液中分离出来，但它们的尺寸通常在纳米范围内，或者需要辅助技术。以前对无规卷曲蛋白质（IDP）的研究表明，不同分子相互作用的积极相互作用为获得新的和更复杂的纳米结构提供了途径。因此，有人假设，在模型 IDP 中丰富各种分子内和分子间相互作用，将拓宽可以获得的复杂中间结构的范围。在这项研究中，构建了一种能够通过三种非共价相互作用，即疏水相互作用、离子配对和氢键相互作用进行相互作用的模型丝弹性蛋白样重组体。结果表明，这种模型材料可以自组装成复杂的稳定微米级生物形态。改变嵌段组成、pH 值和温度表明，对于这种复杂结构的形成，所有三种相互作用都必须相互作用。
