Elucidating the Intrinsically Disordered State, Supramolecular Assembly and Protein Condensates in Natural Materials Formation
Abstract
The ability to mimic the true hierarchical assembly of natural biomaterials in a laboratory setting remains a significant challenge. Specifically, there are major knowledge gaps in our understanding of the intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) state, supramolecular assembly of these proteins and the role of protein condensates in natural materials formation. These processes occur across hierarchical length scales including the atomic-molecular, meso- and microscales and thus require a broad range of structural biology tools and simulation methods to characterize them. Here, we aim to elucidate the hierarchical design rules for protein-based materials using spider silk as our model system. Spider silk is one of the Holy Grails of materials science, exhibiting mechanical properties that rival high tensile steel and toughness that surpasses Kevlar. The goal of this work is to probe and mimic the structural and dynamical features and events responsible for silk assembly with a focus on the IDP state, supramolecular assembly and the role of protein condensates in the silk formation process. This will be accomplished with a broadly applicable multimodal approach developed by our team that combines advanced structural biology tools and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for robust biomaterials characterization. The information garnered will be used to more closely recapitulate the native spinning process in the lab for the production of fibers thru biomimetic extrusion and pultrusion. The proposed work embodies the Natural Materials and Systems Biomaterials thrust at AFOSR that is focused on understanding how organisms synthesize materials. It is envisioned that elucidating the hierarchical design principles for silk formation will enable the building of lighter, tougher materials for extreme load-bearing applications of interest to the US Air and Space Force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310616
Entities
People
- Gregory Holland
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies
- United States Air Force