Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maura A. Tilbury, Thi Quynh Tran, Dilip Shingare, Mathilde Lefevre, Anne Marie Power, Philippe Leclere, J. Gerard Wall
Summary: The study investigated the morphology and adhesiveness of a 19 kDa protein in the barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes under different conditions. It was found that the protein forms amyloid fibers in gland-like condition and self-assembles into large intertwined fibrils. The protein was determined to be a soft and viscoelastic material, with comparable adhesiveness to a commercial adhesive.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sara Catalini, Diego R. Perinelli, Paola Sassi, Lucia Comez, Giovanni F. Palmieri, Assunta Morresi, Giulia Bonacucina, Paolo Foggi, Stefania Pucciarelli, Marco Paolantoni
Summary: A method for quickly forming protein hydrogels has been designed based on the self-assembly of highly concentrated lysozyme solutions in acidic conditions, with properties easily modulated by selecting the curing temperature. Molecular insights from in situ FTIR spectroscopy, calorimetric, and rheological results have provided a consistent picture on structure-property correlations, showing formation of interconnected amyloid oligomers.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yangyang Han, Yiping Cao, Jiangtao Zhou, Yang Yao, Xiaodong Wu, Sreenath Bolisetty, Michael Diener, Stephan Handschin, Canhui Lu, Raffaele Mezzenga
Summary: A facile and general method for fabricating amyloid films via electrostatic self-assembly is introduced, allowing for the construction of multifunctional films and smart devices. The films exhibit tunable properties and have been successfully used in the preparation of a magnetically oriented soft robotic swimmer and a smart magnetic sensor.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Nico Kummer, Caroline E. Giacomin, Peter Fischer, Silvia Campioni, Gustav Nystrom
Summary: Amyloid fibrils from inexpensive food proteins and nanocellulose have diverse applications and their hybrid materials have improved mechanical properties due to electrostatic interactions. These interactions increase the elasticity of the amyloid network by cross-linking individual fibrils. The combination of nanocellulose morphology contributes differently to the elasticity, with cellulose nanocrystals inducing bundling and network formation, and cellulose nanofibrils forming a second network. The gained knowledge on colloidal interactions provides a basis for designing functional biohybrid materials.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shon A. Levkovich, Ehud Gazit, Dana Laor Bar-Yosef
Summary: Functional amyloids in microbes have shown increasing structural and functional diversity in recent years, expanding the traditional definition of these molecules. Their roles include acting as structural scaffolds, modulating surface tension, serving as adhesion molecules, regulating cell cycle and gametogenesis, functioning as toxins, and mediating host-pathogen interactions. The diverse morphologies and sophisticated regulatory mechanisms of noncanonical amyloids underscore their therapeutic and biotechnological potential.
TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yi Lai, Fenglin Li, Zhifeng Zou, Madiha Saeed, Zhiai Xu, Haijun Yu
Summary: This article explores the development and applications of amyloid polypeptide-based nanostructures in biotechnological applications. It emphasizes the importance of thermodynamic and kinetic factors in self-assembly and summarizes cutting-edge advances and challenges in engineering amyloid peptide nanomaterials.
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Piotr Batys, Dmitrii Fedorov, Pezhman Mohammadi, Laura Lemetti, Markus B. Linder, Maria Sammalkorpi
Summary: Liquid-liquid phase separation of biomacromolecules plays a crucial role in various inter- and extracellular biological functions, forming condensates to control biochemical reactions and structural assembly. By studying a well-characterized model triblock protein system, researchers have demonstrated that the condensate has a bicontinuous network structure, resulting from a combination of sites with stronger mutual attraction and multiple weakly attractive regions connected by flexible linker regions.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Lemetti, Alberto Scacchi, Yin Yin, Mengjie Shen, Markus B. Linder, Maria Sammalkorpi, A. Sesilja Aranko
Summary: This study investigates the phase transitions of silk-mimicking proteins and their assembly formation. It demonstrates a length- and concentration-dependent transition between two distinct assembly morphologies. Computational modeling supports the experimental findings and provides a possible mechanistic explanation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ana M. Garcia, Michele Melchionna, Ottavia Bellotto, Slavko Kralj, Sabrina Semeraro, Evelina Parisi, Daniel Iglesias, Paola D'Andrea, Rita De Zorzi, Attilio V. Vargiu, Silvia Marchesan
Summary: Self-assembling peptides with proline as a beta-breaker and diphenylalanine motif were studied for their ability to form diverse nanostructures. The stereo-configuration of amino acids played a crucial role in directing these peptides to assemble into nanoparticles, nanotapes, or fibrils. Additionally, the study found that heterochirality could strategically interfere with pathological processes, potentially offering future therapeutic applications with resistance to degradation and biocompatibility.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mariana Gallo, Simone Luti, Fabio Baroni, Ivan Baccelli, Eduardo Maffud Cilli, Costanza Cicchi, Manuela Leri, Alberto Spisni, Thelma A. A. Pertinhez, Luigia Pazzagli
Summary: Cerato-ulmin (CU) is a hydrophobin protein that self-assembles at hydrophobic-hydrophilic interfaces, altering the wettability properties of the bound surface. It can elicit a defense reaction in non-host plants and its efficacy is higher in its soluble monomeric form. The protein's hydrophobic clusters on the loops exhibit reversible conformational changes when interacting with hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces, suggesting their involvement in the protein's defense elicitation capability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Yuelong Xiao, Yawen Liu, Wenwen Zhang, Ping Qi, Jing Ren, Ying Pei, Shengjie Ling
Summary: The study reveals that silk fibroin is rod-like rather than micellar during heat-induced self-assembly. The formation of silk nanofibrils occurs through nucleation-dependent aggregation, with a variable and irregular assembly period. Furthermore, the long-term assembly of silk fibroin mainly involves an elongation growth process.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Peter Faller, Christelle Hureau
Summary: Controlling protein and peptide aggregation in vitro and obtaining reproducible results poses a challenge, which is scarcely reported and discussed in the literature, potentially hindering progress in the field and misleading newcomers.
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
T. C. Breijaert, G. Daniel, D. Hedlund, P. Svedlindh, V. G. Kessler, H. Granberg, K. Hakansson, G. A. Seisenbaeva
Summary: An environmentally friendly synthesis method for a magnetically responsive material based on carboxymethylated cellulose nanofibrils is reported. Magnetite nanoparticles with different sizes were formed between cellulose nanofibrils or on fibril surfaces. These nanoparticles were capable of coordinating with nanofibrils to form large fiber-like assemblies, and maintained excellent magnetic characteristics during storage. The material has the potential for drug delivery applications with controlled release rate through daylight illumination.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohammad Gias Uddin, Benjamin James Allardyce, Nigar Rashida, Rangam Rajkhowa
Summary: This study characterized the properties of microfibrillated silk fibers and papers produced from Bombyx mori through mechanical and enzymatic processes. The specific surface area of fibers increased after milling and enzymatic pretreatment, leading to significantly improved strength and stiffness of the resulting papers. Enzymatic pretreatment did not reduce molecular weight or tensile strength of the papers, but enhanced fibrillation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Yangxiao Yu, Guangzhou Song, Mengnan Dai, Lingpeng Meng, Jianmei Xu, Qingmin Fan, Fenglin Dong, Yin Yin, Jiannan Wang
Summary: In this study, composite grafts consisting of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) and silk fabric were developed and evaluated for their morphology, water permeability, and cytotoxicity. The grafts showed effective coverage and tight integration, low water leakage, and no significant cytotoxicity, indicating their potential as biomaterials for vascular access repair and regeneration.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gregor Lang, Carolin Grill, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: This study used spider silk proteins to produce Janus fibers with two different functional sides. Functionalization and coupling of gold nanoparticles were achieved through modification and post-treatment processes. The results demonstrated the potential of this silk-based system to realize complex bifunctional structures at the nano scale.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Simon A. B. Riedl, Matthias Voelkl, Anja Holzinger, Julia Jasinski, Valerie Jerome, Thomas Scheibel, Heike Feldhaar, Ruth Freitag
Summary: The intestinal cells of the earthworm Eisenia fetida are suitable for studying the toxic effects of environmental pollutants on a cellular level. Exposure to pollutants and soil elutriates led to a decrease in metabolic activity of the cells. Additionally, microplastic particles did not show active uptake, but had dose and size dependent effects on metabolism that may correlate with organismic effects.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Annika Lechner, Vanessa T. Trossmann, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: The printability of bioinks refers to considerations such as rheology, extrudability, filament formation, shape fidelity, cell viability, and cellular development post-printing. Recent studies indicate that recombinant spider silk hydrogels show high shape fidelity and may be suitable for bioink formulations, with the encapsulation of cells impacting gelation and mechanics differently depending on the silk variant used. RGD-modified spider silk hydrogels are physically crosslinked by cells, showing high cell viability after extrusion-based printing.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
A. F. R. M. Ramsperger, J. Jasinski, M. Volkl, T. Witzmann, M. Meinhart, V Jerome, W. P. Kretschmer, R. Freitag, J. Senker, A. Fery, H. Kress, T. Scheibel, C. Laforsch
Summary: This study characterized the surface properties and chemical composition of two commercially available nominally identical polystyrene microparticles, revealing distinct differences. Cells exposed to particles with lower zeta-potential and higher monomer content showed more particle-cell interactions, leading to decreased cell metabolism and proliferation. This emphasizes the importance of well-characterized physicochemical properties when studying the effects of microplastics.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Sarah Lentz, Vanessa T. Trossmann, Christian B. Borkner, Vivien Beyersdorfer, Markus Rottmar, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Improving the properties of biomaterials through engineered coatings is an area of increasing interest. Spider silk coatings have shown potential for explicit biomedical applications due to their excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Vanessa Tanja Trossmann, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Cell-adhesive materials are crucial for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, especially for constructing hierarchically organized tissue structures with different cell types. Recombinant spider silk proteins offer promising scaffolds due to high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and the ability for genetic modification. A genetically modified spider silk variant, eADF4(C16)-KGD, showed cell selectivity for C2C12 mouse myoblasts out of 11 tested cell lines. Co-culturing with B50 rat neuronal cells confirmed the cell-specific adhesion of eADF4(C16)-KGD material surfaces for C2C12 mouse myoblasts.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zan Lamberger, Shakir Zainuddin, Thomas Scheibel, Gregor Lang
Summary: Janus fibers are composite materials with mechanical, chemical, and biological functionality. Incorporating different materials and functionalities into micro- or nanoscale fibers allows for synergistic physicochemical effects and opens up unprecedented opportunities for technical or biomedical applications. This review article discusses the recent advancements in processing technologies and applications of polymeric Janus fibers, highlighting their potential in various fields such as textiles, catalysis, sensors, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, and antimicrobial materials.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sarah Lentz, Vanessa Tanja Trossmann, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: This study investigates the influence of topographical surface features on cell behavior and demonstrates that specific surface modifications can guide selective cell adhesion and influence cell morphology and alignment.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Christina Heinritz, Xuen J. Ng, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Adhesives are sticky substances used to join surfaces, and bioadhesives are specifically designed for biological and living substrates. These bioadhesives need to be biocompatible, non-toxic, and degradable. Nature provides inspiration for bioadhesives, as certain organisms like mussels, sandcastle worms, and spiders use protein-based glues. This article focuses on the advances in developing protein-based adhesives for biomedical applications, with a wide range of reviews and books available on the topic of bioadhesives in various applications.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Ebbinghaus, Gregor Lang, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Biomimicry applies principles of natural materials, processes, and structures to technology. This review discusses the two strategies of biomimicry: bottom-up and top-down approaches, using biomimetic polymer fibers and spinning techniques as examples. Bottom-up biomimicry helps gain fundamental knowledge on biological systems for technological advancements, while top-down biomimicry seeks solutions from natural role models. Examples like silk and collagen fibers, spider webs, animal hair, and tissue structures are presented. The review also provides an overview of biomimetic filter technologies, textiles, and tissue engineering.
BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Merisa Saric, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Researchers have successfully engineered a two-in-one protein with high mechanical performance, combining the characteristics of two European garden spider proteins. This protein self-assembles into beta-sheet-rich superstructures, resulting in fibers with mechanical properties at least twice as high as individual or blended proteins. This processing route holds great potential for future applications of ecologically friendly high-performance fibers.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Natascha Schaefer, Mateo Andrade S. Mier, David Sonnleitner, Nicoletta Murenu, Xuen Jen Ng, Zan Lamberger, Margitta Buechner, Vanessa T. Trossmann, Dirk W. Schubert, Thomas Scheibel, Gregor Lang
Summary: The development of bio-inks for 3D-printing cell-containing bio-fabricates is challenging due to the need for shape fidelity. High polymer concentrations can achieve structural integrity but may hinder cell performance. This study investigates the impact of collagen-coated polycaprolactone fibers on cells printed in a hydrogel. The fibers reduce cell viability upon printing but enhance cell performance in the printed construct, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between in-print and post-print effects of fillers in bio-inks.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Julia Jasinski, Matthias Voelkl, Jonas Hahn, Valerie Jerome, Ruth Freitag, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: The impact of microplastic particles on organisms is currently under intense research. This study investigated the fate of polystyrene particles ingested by murine macrophages, including their distribution during cell division and possible mechanisms of excretion. The results showed that particle distribution during cell division was cell-specific, and no active excretion of microplastic particles was observed. Additionally, polarized macrophages exhibited higher phagocytic activity and particle uptake compared to non-polarized cells. Furthermore, it was found that submicron particles were co-localized with the endoplasmic reticulum, while 0.5μm particles were occasionally found in endosomes.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Vanessa T. Trossmann, Sarah Lentz, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Biomaterials are crucial in biomedical research, but their biocompatibility is often insufficient, leading to inflammation and rejection reactions. Spider silk protein coatings offer a promising alternative due to their biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the biological response to spider silk coatings varies due to various factors, such as silk source, solvent, substrate, and processing techniques. Understanding these factors is important for tailoring spider silk coatings to specific applications. This article provides a summary of these factors, characterization methods, and highlights the importance of adaptability and biological response for specific applications.
JOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL BIOMATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Christoph Sommer, Thomas Scheibel
Summary: Recombinant spider silk proteins can be processed into various materials such as coatings, hydrogels, particles, fibrils, and foams. Electrospinning produces submicron- and nanofibers with a high surface-to-volume ratio, making them ideal for applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and filtration.
