Flow-assisted assembly of nanostructured protein microfibers

Abstract

Some of the most remarkable materials in nature are made from proteins. The properties of these materials are closely connected to the hierarchical assembly of the protein building blocks. In this perspective, amyloid-like protein nanofibrils (PNFs) have emerged as a promising foundation for the synthesis of novel bio-based materials for a variety of applications. Whereas recent advances have revealed the molecular structure of PNFs, the mechanisms associated with fibril–fibril interactions and their assembly into macroscale structures remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that whey PNFs can be assembled into microfibers using a flow-focusing approach and without the addition of plasticizers or cross-linkers. Microfocus small-angle X-ray scattering allows us to monitor the fibril orientation in the microchannel and compare the assembly processes of PNFs of distinct morphologies. We find that the strongest fiber is obtained with a sufficient balance between ordered nanostructure and fibril entanglement. The results provide insights in the behavior of protein nanostructures under laminar flow conditions and their assembly mechanism into hierarchical macroscopic structures.