Solvent-free liquid crystals and liquids based on genetically engineered supercharged polypeptides with high elasticity

Adv Mater. 2015 Apr 17;27(15):2459-65. doi: 10.1002/adma.201405182. Epub 2015 Mar 2.

Abstract

A series of solvent-free elastin-like polypeptide liquid crystals and liquids are developed by electrostatic complexation of supercharged elastin-like polypeptides with surfactants. The smectic mesophases exhibit a high elasticity and the values can be easily tuned by varying the alkyl chain lengths of the surfactants or the lengths of the elastin-like polypeptides.

Keywords: high elasticity; liquid crystals; liquids; solvent-free; supercharged polypeptides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Elasticity*
  • Genetic Engineering*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / genetics*
  • Protein Conformation

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins