title: Self-assembly of collagen building blocks guided by electric fields.
abstract: Show me the way: protein building blocks are programmed to assemble hierarchically and yield a defined fiber morphology of micrometric length and precise nanometric diameter. The key step of this method is to align the building blocks with an AC field prior to assembly. The resulting protein nanofibers are straightforwardly integrated with the circuitry for potential applications in bionanotechnology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Rica
authors.forename: Ernest
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: Lesley W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Kristy L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cloyd
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertazzo
authors.forename: Hannah C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Joseph A M
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.forename: Molly M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004566:Electrodes; D008839:Microelectrodes; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D003094:Collagen
keywords: bionanotechnology; collagen; microfabrication; nanostructures; self-assembly