Advanced Materials, Vol.27, No.26, 3953-3953, 2015
From Soft Self-Healing Gels to Stiff Films in Suckerin-Based Materials Through Modulation of Crosslink Density and beta-Sheet Content
Suckerins are block-copolymer-like structural proteins constituting the building blocks of the strong squid sucker-ring teeth. Here, recombinant suckerin-19 is processed into biomaterials spanning a wide range of elasticity, from very soft hydrogels to stiff films with elastic modulus in the gigapascal range. The elasticity is controlled by the interplay between the beta-sheet content and induced di-tyrosine crosslinking.