2022/07/27 by Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts, Sophie Cussons, Aufderhorst-Roberts, Anders +5
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Medicine · #Blood properties and coagulation #FOS: Physical sciences #Protein Structure and Dynamics #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #Sports Dynamics and Biomechanics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2207.13348
openalex publication_date 2022/07/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Folded protein hydrogels are prime candidates as tuneable biomaterials but it is unclear to what extent their mechanical properties have mesoscopic, as opposed to molecular origins. To address this, we probe hydrogels of the muscle-derived protein I275, using a multimodal rheology approach. Across multiple protocols, the hydrogels consistently exhibit power-law viscoelasticity in the linear viscoelastic regime with an exponent β= 0.03, suggesting a dense fractal meso-structure, with predicted fractal dimension df = 2.48. In the nonlinear viscoelastic regime, the hydrogel undergoes stiffening and energy dissipation, indicating simultaneous alignment and unfolding of the folded proteins. Remarkably, this behaviour is highly reversible, as the value of β, df and the viscoelastic moduli return to their equilibrium value, even after multiple cycles of deformation. This highlights a previously unrevealed diversity of viscoelastic properties that originate on the mesoscopic scale. These considerations are likely to be key to controlling the viscoelasticity of folded protein hydrogels.