Nature Communications (Sep 2023)

Protein fibers with self-recoverable mechanical properties via dynamic imine chemistry

  • Jing Sun,
  • Haonan He,
  • Kelu Zhao,
  • Wenhao Cheng,
  • Yuanxin Li,
  • Peng Zhang,
  • Sikang Wan,
  • Yawei Liu,
  • Mengyao Wang,
  • Ming Li,
  • Zheng Wei,
  • Bo Li,
  • Yi Zhang,
  • Cong Li,
  • Yao Sun,
  • Jianlei Shen,
  • Jingjing Li,
  • Fan Wang,
  • Chao Ma,
  • Yang Tian,
  • Juanjuan Su,
  • Dong Chen,
  • Chunhai Fan,
  • Hongjie Zhang,
  • Kai Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41084-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract The manipulation of internal interactions at the molecular level within biological fibers is of particular importance but challenging, severely limiting their tunability in macroscopic performances and applications. It thus becomes imperative to explore new approaches to enhance biological fibers’ stability and environmental tolerance and to impart them with diverse functionalities, such as mechanical recoverability and stimulus-triggered responses. Herein, we develop a dynamic imine fiber chemistry (DIFC) approach to engineer molecular interactions to fabricate strong and tough protein fibers with recoverability and actuating behaviors. The resulting DIF fibers exhibit extraordinary mechanical performances, outperforming many recombinant silks and synthetic polymer fibers. Remarkably, impaired DIF fibers caused by fatigue or strong acid treatment are quickly recovered in water directed by the DIFC strategy. Reproducible mechanical performance is thus observed. The DIF fibers also exhibit exotic mechanical stability at extreme temperatures (e.g., −196 °C and 150 °C). When triggered by humidity, the DIFC endows the protein fibers with diverse actuation behaviors, such as self-folding, self-stretching, and self-contracting. Therefore, the established DIFC represents an alternative strategy to strengthen biological fibers and may pave the way for their high-tech applications.