Peptide-based nanofibrillar materials
AssigneeTurfts University
InventorsFiorenzo OMENETTO, David KAPLAN, Benedetto MARELLI, Alexander Nicholas MITROPOULOS
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are nanofibrillar materials and aerogel-like materials comprised of nanofibrils, and methods for making such materials.
Claims40
An nanofibrillar material, comprising:
- an amphiphilic polypeptide having
- nanofibrils with an average diameter between about 2 nm and about 40 nm and
- interconnected pores,
- wherein a majority of the interconnected pores have an average diameter between about 2 nm and about 100 nm;
- and
- wherein the nanofibrillar material is characterized by
- a porosity of at least about 80%,
- a bulk density that is less than about 75 kg/m3, and
- a compressive modulus between that is between about 50 kPa and about 300 kPa.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the amphiphilic polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence motif GAGAGS (SEQ ID NO:
- 1).
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the amphiphilic polypeptide comprises a silk fibroin polypeptide.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nanofibrillar material consists essentially of a silk fibroin polypeptide.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the amphiphilic polypeptide has an average molecular weight between about 10 kDa and about 400 kDa.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nanofibrils have an average diameter between about 10 nm and about 30 nm.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nanofibrils have an average diameter between about 15 nm and about 25 nm.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nanofibrillar material is characterized by a porosity of at least about 90%.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the nanofibrillar material is characterized by an optical transparency of between about 50% and about 75% at about 600 nm.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, further comprising platinum(II) meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (PtTFPP) for oxygen sensing.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, further comprising a functional moiety.
The nanofibrillar material of any of the preceding claims, wherein the functional moiety is an enzyme or a cell.
A method comprising steps of:
- providing an amphiphilic polypeptide hydrogel;
- dehydrating the amphiphilic polypeptide hydrogel using an organic solvent;
- supercritical drying of the dehydrated hydrogel to form a nanofibrillar material,
- wherein nanofibrils of the nanofibrillar material have an average diameter between about 2 nm and about 40 nm and interconnected pores,
- wherein a majority of the interconnected pores have a diameter between about 2 nm and about 100 nm;
- and
- wherein the nanofibrillar material is characterized by
- a porosity of at least about 80%,
- a bulk density that is less than about 75 kg/m3, and
- a compressive modulus between that is between about 50 kPa and about 300 kPa.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.