Generating a material with tailored properties or functionalities remains a grand challenge for future materials innovation. For example, the success of “biomaterials by design” awaits the perfect synergy among interdisciplinary research efforts, including engineering and biology. In this research, we aim to harness the power of synthetic biology and bioprocessing to establish a strategy that could potentially expedite the development of next-generation protein-based materials. In particular, we have exploited silk materials, the assets from Nature that have been utilized in many research and industrial fields, as the blueprints for further renovation. First, we created a DNA library with a controlled arrangement of repetitive units, dragline gene MaSp1s of spider Cyrtophora moluccensis, to resemble the genetic hierarchy of the native silk via a DNA polymerase-based extension methodology. Such DNA extension approach offers a more time-efficient way for constructing long DNA constructs, comparing to other cloning technologies. Second, an E. coli based cell-free expression platform is carried out for the in vitro production of the library clones that offers a higher-throughput means under the customizable expression conditions. Subsequently, the physical and biological properties of the synthesized biomaterials are further evaluated and details will be described. We envision the streamlined engineering of the silk-like protein materials can offer a case to facilitate the renovation of programmable biomaterials in the future.

Developing a facile system for synthetic engineering of advanced silk-based materials

2019 Spring National Meeting

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