Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production
Abstract Silk’s remarkable properties arise from its hierarchical structure, formed through natural transformation from an aqueous solution to a solid fibre driven by pH and flow stress under low-energy conditions. In contrast, artificial silk fabrication typically relies on extrusion-based methods...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Communications Materials |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-024-00722-x |
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| author | Rafael O. Moreno-Tortolero Juliusz Michalski Eleanor Wells Flora Gibb Nick Skaer Robert Walker Louise Serpell Chris Holland Sean A. Davis |
| author_facet | Rafael O. Moreno-Tortolero Juliusz Michalski Eleanor Wells Flora Gibb Nick Skaer Robert Walker Louise Serpell Chris Holland Sean A. Davis |
| author_sort | Rafael O. Moreno-Tortolero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Silk’s remarkable properties arise from its hierarchical structure, formed through natural transformation from an aqueous solution to a solid fibre driven by pH and flow stress under low-energy conditions. In contrast, artificial silk fabrication typically relies on extrusion-based methods using coagulating baths and unnatural solvents, limiting true biomimetic replication. Here, we find that native-like silk fibroin forms viscoelastic films at the air-water interface. Utilizing this, we demonstrate a mild, all-aqueous method to seamlessly pull silk-like fibres with co-aligned nanofibrillar bundles. The fiber structure transitioned from hexagonally packed β-solenoid units at low pulling speeds to β-sheet-rich structures at higher speeds. Fibers pulled near physiological speeds (26.3 mm s-¹) exhibited optimal mechanical properties, with an elastic modulus of 8 ± 1 GPa and toughness of 8 ± 5 MJ m-³, comparable to natural silk. This platform also enables embedding nanoparticles and biologics, offering broad applications in sensors, biocatalysis, and tissue engineering, expanding the potential of silk-based composite materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-acaa8c13edda49ad85cd2f5c1dd0d55a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-acaa8c13edda49ad85cd2f5c1dd0d55a2025-08-20T01:57:16ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Materials2662-44432024-12-015111010.1038/s43246-024-00722-xManipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre productionRafael O. Moreno-Tortolero0Juliusz Michalski1Eleanor Wells2Flora Gibb3Nick Skaer4Robert Walker5Louise Serpell6Chris Holland7Sean A. Davis8School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s CloseSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s CloseSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s CloseSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s CloseOrthox Ltd; Milton Park, 66 Innovation Drive, MiltonOrthox Ltd; Milton Park, 66 Innovation Drive, MiltonSussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex; FalmerSchool of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin StreetSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s CloseAbstract Silk’s remarkable properties arise from its hierarchical structure, formed through natural transformation from an aqueous solution to a solid fibre driven by pH and flow stress under low-energy conditions. In contrast, artificial silk fabrication typically relies on extrusion-based methods using coagulating baths and unnatural solvents, limiting true biomimetic replication. Here, we find that native-like silk fibroin forms viscoelastic films at the air-water interface. Utilizing this, we demonstrate a mild, all-aqueous method to seamlessly pull silk-like fibres with co-aligned nanofibrillar bundles. The fiber structure transitioned from hexagonally packed β-solenoid units at low pulling speeds to β-sheet-rich structures at higher speeds. Fibers pulled near physiological speeds (26.3 mm s-¹) exhibited optimal mechanical properties, with an elastic modulus of 8 ± 1 GPa and toughness of 8 ± 5 MJ m-³, comparable to natural silk. This platform also enables embedding nanoparticles and biologics, offering broad applications in sensors, biocatalysis, and tissue engineering, expanding the potential of silk-based composite materials.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-024-00722-x |
| spellingShingle | Rafael O. Moreno-Tortolero Juliusz Michalski Eleanor Wells Flora Gibb Nick Skaer Robert Walker Louise Serpell Chris Holland Sean A. Davis Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production Communications Materials |
| title | Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production |
| title_full | Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production |
| title_fullStr | Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production |
| title_short | Manipulating the water–air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk-like fibroin fibre production |
| title_sort | manipulating the water air interface to drive protein assembly for functional silk like fibroin fibre production |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-024-00722-x |
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