Gelation Methods to Assemble Fibrous Proteins.

Gelation is an efficient way to fabricate fibrous protein materials. Briefly, it is an aggregation process where protein molecules assembly from a random structure into an organized structure such as nanofibrillar networks. According to their mechanisms, the fibrous proteins gelation can be classified into physical gelation and chemical gelation. The physical gelation is formed by the conformational transformation of fibroin proteins, which can be triggered by temperature, concentration, pH, or shear force. On the other hand, the chemical gelation is to cross-link fibrous proteins through chemical and/or enzymatic reactions. In this chapter, we summarize the protocols for preparing fibrous protein hydrogels, including both physical and chemical methods. The mechanisms of these gelation methods are also highlighted.