Projects per year
Abstract
Phase transitions have an essential role in the assembly of nature's protein-based materials into hierarchically organized structures, yet many of the underlying mechanisms and interactions remain to be resolved. A central question for designing proteins for materials is how the protein architecture and sequence affects the nature of the phase transitions and resulting assembly. In this work, we produced 82 kDa (1×), 143 kDa (2×), and 204 kDa (3×) silk-mimicking proteins by taking advantage of protein ligation by SpyCatcher/Tag protein-peptide pair. We show that the three silk proteins all undergo a phase transition from homogeneous solution to assembly formation. In the assembly phase, a length- and concentration-dependent transition between two distinct assembly morphologies, one forming aggregates and another coacervates, exists. The coacervates showed properties that were dependent on the protein size. Computational modeling of the proteins by a bead-spring model supports the experimental results and provides us a possible mechanistic origin for the assembly transitions based on architectures and interactions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3142-3153 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Biomacromolecules |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 8 |
Early online date | 7 Jul 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Aug 2022 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation and Assembly of Silk-like Proteins is Dependent on the Polymer Length'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.-
LIBER Linder: Life-like hybrid materials
Linder, M. (Principal investigator)
01/01/2022 → 31/12/2026
Project: RCF Centre of Excellence
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LIBER Sammalkorpi: LIBER Sammalkorpi
Sammalkorpi, M. (Principal investigator)
01/01/2022 → 31/12/2024
Project: RCF Academy Project
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CrossSilk: Durable and functional biomaterials from crosslinked non-canonical silk and cellulose composite
Aranko, S. (Principal investigator)
01/09/2020 → 31/08/2024
Project: RCF Academy Project
Equipment
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Bioeconomy Research Infrastructure
Seppälä, J. (Manager)
School of Chemical EngineeringFacility/equipment: Facility
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OtaNano - Nanomicroscopy Center
Seitsonen, J. (Manager) & Rissanen, A. (Other)
OtaNanoFacility/equipment: Facility