Mechanoresponsive Protein Motifs - from molecular mechanisms towards bioinspired materials
by Prof. Dr., Kerstin Blank
Proteins are essential building blocks of biogenic materials, forming both purely protein-based structures and composite materials where they mediate specific interactions with other biopolymers or mineral surfaces. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy, our goal is to establish fundamental sequence-structure-mechanics relationships of protein-protein and protein-surface interactions, and to utilize these for the bottom-up assembly of bioinspired materials. Focusing on a diverse array of structural protein motifs found in nature (e.g. coiled coils, chitin-binding and magnetite-binding proteins), we have unraveled the molecular factors that govern their mechanical stability and binding strength. This knowledge is used to build libraries of mechanically calibrated protein motifs, which serve as building blocks for mechanoresponsive materials with tunable properties. Ultimately, we aim to translate these molecular-level insights into materials with self-healing and self-reporting functions.
