Protein Biomaterials with Muscle-like Water-Driven Actuation.

ABSTRACT: Unlike muscles, man-made shape-morphing biomaterials take much longer times to perform their actuation. Here we report a novel class of protein-based actuators that mimic muscle contraction through ethanol-induced fibril formation in bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogels, enabling reversible shape changes and fast, water-driven motion. These structural changes result in mechanical stiffening, enabling programmable and reversible shape changes, which take place over minutes to hours. At intermediate ethanol concentrations (40-80%), fibril formation dominates and contributes to shape retention, while at high ethanol concentrations (80-99%), aggregation outpaces fibrillation, allowing full recovery of the original shape upon rehydration. Furthermore, upon reinsertion into water, ethanol retent

SUBMITTER: Bista S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12781115 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature