Fig. 3: Computationally-guided design of hierarchical nanostructures show enhanced conductivity over micrometers.

a Strategy to align pili using HMD molecule b Time evolution of the distance between the geometric centers of each monomer. c Histogram displaying the distribution of distances between the geometric centers of the pilin monomers in the presence and absence of 250 mM HMD. Data was collected from separate 100 ns simulations. d Time evolution of the interaction between two FimA monomers in presence and absence of 250 mM HMD. e AFM images of pili on mica. Scale bar, 200 nm. Height profile (right) of pili at location shown (black bar crossing bundle) in middle image confirms the bundling. f Conductivity comparison of ordered pili. Error bars represent s.e.m. (n = 3).