THIS GRANT IS A CONTINUATION OF N00014-14-1-0724 Chitin Nanofiber Silk Self Assembled Biomimetic Composites
Abstract
In biological systems, the majority of structural materials and architectures (e.g. bone, teeth, wood, arthropod cuticles, crustacean exoskeletons, and mollusk shells) are composites that are formed from a dispersed phase, typically biomacromolecules hierarchically assembled into a fibrous form, and a matrix. For example, in arthropods, crustaceans, and mollusks, there is a dispersed phase of chitin nanofibers within a matrix of silk-like proteins. In wood, the dispersed phase is mainly cellulose, whereas in bone and teeth the dispersed phase is collagen. Biocomposites frequently serve as templates for mineralization to yield the final material. For example, the teeth of the mollusk chiton have magnetite mineralized on a template of chitin nanofibers, and the club of the Stomatopod Dactyl shrimp is composed of chitin nanofibers mineralized with hydroxyapatite. Rigid biological systems have served as inspiration for biomimetic synthetic composites. One of the challenges in creating biomimetic composites, though, is recreating the complex hierarchical structure that is responsible for the outstanding properties of the composite. The hierarchical structure spans from the nanoscale to the microscale and that has been difficult to produce in large scale with top-down fabrication methods. In contrast, the self-assembly of biomolecular components with tailored molecules has proven useful. Biomineralized self-assembled composites have even been demonstrated. An appealing strategy is to exploit the self-assembly of ready to use natural components that do not require synthesis in vitro. Several technological applications have been demonstrated by combining the natural materials cellulose, silk, and chitin with macro- , micro-, and nanofabricaton methods. However, all of these materials did not precisely replicate the nanoscale hierarchical biological nanostructure. A self-assembled biomimetic composite that closely mimics the molecular interaction between the nanofiber dispersed phase and protein matrix present in several natural structural composites is currently lacking. The Principal Investigator has recently demonstrated a nanostructured biomimetic composite from the solution co-assembly of self-assembled chitin nanofibers in a silk matrix. This is the first self-assembled composite of its kind that closely mimics natural composites. However, several aspects of its assembly, microstructure and mechanical properties are still unknown. In the proposed research, he will investigate the structure-processing-properties relationship of this composite in order optimize both the microstructure, and the mechanical and optical properties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141612131
Entities
People
- Marco Rolandi
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington