title: Controlled hierarchical assembly of spider silk-DNA chimeras into ribbons and raft-like morphologies.
abstract: Spider silk-DNA conjugates comprising the recombinant spider silk protein eADF4(C16) and short oligonucleotides were arranged in a linear antiparallel and parallel as well as in a branched manner via designed complementarity of the DNA moieties. After cross-β fibril self-assembly, temperature-induced annealing of the DNA moieties triggered fibril association into ribbons, composed of aligned nanofibrils, and rafts composed of ribbons ordered into sharply bordered, squared fibrous microstructures. The formation of the superstructures was clearly dependent on the individual silk-DNA conjugate. A combination of 5'-conjugated silk moieties via complementary nucleic acids enhanced fibril association, whereas mixing complementary 5'- and 3'-silk conjugates inhibited the formation of higher-order structures.
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials, Faculty of Engineering Science, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research (BIMF) - Soft Matter Electron Microscopy, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces (BZKG), Research Center Bio-Macromolecules (BIOmac), Bayreuth Center for Molecular Biosciences (BZMB), and Bayreuth Center for Material Science (BayMAT), University of Bayreuth , D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Humenik
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drechsler
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scheibel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013112:Spiders / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D009841:Oligonucleotides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D047011:Silk; D004247:DNA