From Basic Principles of Protein-Polysaccharide Association to the Rational Design of Thermally Sensitive Materials.

ABSTRACT: Biology resolves design requirements toward functional materials by creating nanostructured composites, where individual components are combined to maximize the macroscale material performance. A major challenge in utilizing such design principles is the trade-off between the preservation of individual component properties and emerging composite functionalities. Here, polysaccharide pectin and silk fibroin were investigated in their composite form with pectin as a thermal-responsive ion conductor and fibroin with exceptional mechanical strength. We show that segregative phase separation occurs upon mixing, and within a limited compositional range, domains ∼50 nm in size are formed and distributed homogeneously so that decent matrix collective properties are established. The composite is ch

SUBMITTER: Rosenberg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10895586 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature