English
 
Help Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Released

Journal Article

Hierarchically-structured metalloprotein composite coatings biofabricated from co-existing condensed liquid phases

MPS-Authors
/persons/resource/persons196983

Jehle,  Franziska
Damien Faivre, Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons214472

Macías-Sánchez,  Elena
Luca Bertinetti (Indep. Res.), Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons192983

Sviben,  Sanja
Yael Politi, Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons121298

Fratzl,  Peter
Peter Fratzl, Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons121142

Bertinetti,  Luca
Luca Bertinetti (Indep. Res.), Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons121387

Harrington,  Matthew J.
Matthew Harrington, Biomaterialien, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Max Planck Society;

External Resource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (restricted access)
There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.
Fulltext (public)

Article.pdf
(Publisher version), 4MB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Jehle, F., Macías-Sánchez, E., Sviben, S., Fratzl, P., Bertinetti, L., & Harrington, M. J. (2020). Hierarchically-structured metalloprotein composite coatings biofabricated from co-existing condensed liquid phases. Nature Communications, 11: 862. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14709-y.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0005-A730-8
Abstract
Complex hierarchical structure governs emergent properties in biopolymeric materials; yet, the material processing involved remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the multi-scale structure and composition of the mussel byssus cuticle before, during and after formation to gain insight into the processing of this hard, yet extensible metal cross-linked protein composite. Our findings reveal that the granular substructure crucial to the cuticle’s function as a wear-resistant coating of an extensible polymer fiber is pre-organized in condensed liquid phase secretory vesicles. These are phase-separated into DOPA-rich proto-granules enveloped in a sulfur-rich proto-matrix which fuses during secretion, forming the sub-structure of the cuticle. Metal ions are added subsequently in a site-specific way, with iron contained in the sulfur-rich matrix and vanadium coordinated by DOPA-catechol in the granule. We posit that this hierarchical structure self-organizes via phase separation of specific amphiphilic proteins within secretory vesicles, resulting in a meso-scale structuring that governs cuticle function.