Tensegrity-Guided Assembly of Novel Protein Biomaterials

Tension integrity, also known as tensegrity, describes a system where discontinuous compressed components are connected through a tensioned web. Several examples of tensegrity models exist in Nature and beyond natural systems, the concept of tensegrity has been applied to engineered nanostructures through to architectural structures. However, a challenge is to develop more complex hierarchical tensegrity models of soft matter and biological systems, and to couple them to equally quantitative descriptions of molecular self-assembly that can incorporate shape, orientation and pattern. In this new proposal we aim to investigate tensegrity within an engineered matrix, folded protein hydrogels which are 3D self-assembled, self-supporting networks of cross-linked hydrophilic protein building blocks swollen by large volumes of water. We propose time resolved SANS on the instrument ZOOM to investigate the structural evolution of folded protein hydrogels during their relaxation phase post-photochemical crosslinking. Time-resolved kinetic SANS experiments will monitor how the hydrogel architecture and the protein building blocks are altered during relaxation. The combination of SANS data and modelling could provide new opportunities for the tensegrity-guided assembly of biomaterials for application in medicine and healthcare, including our efforts to created responsive and targeted gel networks for drug delivery.