Journal
POLYMER
Volume 69, Issue -, Pages 255-263Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2015.03.030
Keywords
Resilin; Self-healing; Histidine-metal coordination
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Funding
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [HA6369/3-1]
- Max Planck Society
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Metal coordination bonds are employed in protein based biological materials such as the mussel byssus as reversible sacrificial bonds to achieve autonomic and intrinsic self-healing behavior. In the present study, histidine residues capable of forming coordination bonds were recombinantly engineered into the consensus sequence of resilin, an insect protein that forms a rubbery and resilient biopolymeric network. The purified recombinant resilin mutant, AnG_2His16, was photo cross-linked to form thin films that exhibited a 30-fold increase in modulus compared with wild-type resilin sequences. Addition of Zn2+ ions to the mutant resilin films, led to a further increase in stiffness, which, according to Raman spectroscopic studies, arises from His-metal coordination cross-links. These findings show the potential for tuning mechanics and self-healing behavior in biopolymers using bio-engineered metal-binding sites. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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