From Soft Self-Healing Gels to Stiff Films in Suckerin-Based Materials Through Modulation of Crosslink Density and β-Sheet Content.

Ding, Dawei; Guerette, Paul A; Fu, Jing; Zhang, Lihong; Irvine, Scott A; Miserez, Ali · Adv Mater · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Suckerins are block-copolymer-like structural proteins constituting the building blocks of the strong squid sucker-ring teeth. Here, recombinant suckerin-19 is processed into biomaterials spanning a wide range of elasticity, from very soft hydrogels to stiff films with elastic modulus in the gigapascal range. The elasticity is controlled by the interplay between the β-sheet content and induced di-tyrosine crosslinking.

Medical subject headings