Fig. 1: Design of MaSp2 constructs for biomimetic spinning in a microfluidic device.
From: Replicating shear-mediated self-assembly of spider silk through microfluidics
a Layout of the microfluidic device, consisting of three inlets and one outlet with a negative pressure controlling system. The spidroin was first mixed with 50 mM CPB at pH 7 and then subjected to 1 M citrate–phosphate buffer (CPB) (pH 5) at the intersection. The channel along which MaSp2 assembled was divided into sections A, B and C for comparison in terms of the morphology and secondary structure. The inset shows a picture of the actual microfluidic device. Scale bar, 1 cm. b The different recombinant MaSp2 constructs used in this study, representing various combinations of the N-terminal domain (NTD), repeat (RP) and C-terminal domain (CTD). For N-R12-C(xA), the poly-Ala repeat normally found in the repetitive region was replaced by GSGSGSG. c N-R12-C in the form of droplets and nanofibrils obtained by exposure to 0.5 M CPB at pH 7 and 5, respectively. Five independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 5 μm.
