Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 43: Biomaterials and Biopolymers (joint session BP/CPP)
CPP 43.5: Talk
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 10:30–10:45, BAR/SCHÖ
To gel or not to gel? Assembly phase changes of engineered spidroin proteins induced by temperature and time — •Isabell Tunn1,2,3, Dmitry Tolmachev2,4, Adam L. Harmat2,4, Nea B. Möttönen1,2, Alberto Scacchi2,4,5, Maria Sammalkorpi2,4, and Markus B. Linder1,4 — 1Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Finland — 2Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Life-Inspired Hybrid Materials (LIBER), Aalto University, Finland — 3Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), Germany — 4Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, Aalto University, Finland — 5Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Turku, Finland
Bioinspired silk-like proteins offer exciting possibilities for developing the next generation of advanced materials - from medicine to food packaging. Here, we investigate the temperature- and time-dependent assembly behaviour of engineered silk-like proteins into hydrogels conducting experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.* Phase transitions are controlled by entropic changes in flexible glycine-rich regions and hydrophobic interactions of alanine-rich α-helical regions. High-temperature gelation proceeds through interactions between alanine-rich domains, leading to β-sheet formation while time-induced gelation occurs via protein percolation mainly driven by dimerization of terminal domains. These findings provide guidelines for engineering protein-based materials with tailored assembly properties and gel characteristics, advancing the rational design of biomimetic soft materials. *https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.147712
Keywords: spidroins; silk-like proteins; hydrogels; liquid-liquid phase separation; rheology