Segmented molecular design of self-healing proteinaceous materials.
Hierarchical assembly of self-healing adhesive proteins creates strong and robust structural and interfacial materials, but understanding of the molecular design and structure-property relationships of structural proteins remains unclear. Elucidating this relationship would allow rational design of next generation genetically engineered self-healing structural proteins. Here we report a general self-healing and -assembly strategy based on a multiphase recombinant protein based material. Segmented structure of the protein shows soft glycine- and tyrosine-rich segments with self-healing capability and hard beta-sheet segments. The soft segments are strongly plasticized by water, lowering the self-healing temperature close to body temperature. The hard segments self-assemble into nanoconfined domains to reinforce the material. The healing strength scales sublinearly with contact time, which associates with diffusion and wetting of autohesion. The finding suggests that recombinant structural proteins from heterologous expression have potential as strong and repairable engineering materials.
Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.|Aalto University, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Espoo, 02150, Finland.
Veikko
V
Sariola
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Abdon
A
Pena-Francesch
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Huihun
H
Jung
BASF SE, Carl-Bosch Strasse 38, Ludwigshafen, 67056, Germany.
Murat
M
Çetinkaya
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Chemistry, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Carlos
C
Pacheco
Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.|Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Physical Intelligence Department, Stuttgart, 70569, Germany.
Metin
M
Sitti
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.|Pennsylvania State University, Materials Research Institute and Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Melik C
MC
Demirel
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D015202:Protein Engineering; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012997:Solvents