The aggregates morphology and the aggregation kinetics of a model monoclonal antibody under acidic conditions have been investigated. Growth occurs via irreversible cluster-cluster coagulation forming compact, fractal aggregates with fractal dimension of 2.6. We measured the time evolution of the average radius of gyration, , and the average hydrodynamic radius, , by in situ light scattering, and simulated the aggregation kinetics by a modified Smoluchowski's population balance equations. The analysis indicates that aggregation does not occur under diffusive control, and allows quantification of effective intermolecular interactions, expressed in terms of the Fuchs stability ratio (W). In particular, by introducing a dimensionless time weighed on W, the time evolutions of measured under various operating conditions (temperature, pH, type and concentration of salt) collapse on a single master curve. The analysis applies also to data reported in the literature when growth by cluster-cluster coagulation dominates, showing a certain level of generality in the antibodies aggregation behavior. The quantification of the stability ratio gives important physical insights into the process, including the Arrhenius dependence of the aggregation rate constant and the relationship between monomer-monomer and cluster-cluster interactions. Particularly, it is found that the reactivity of non-native monomers is larger than that of non-native aggregates, likely due to the reduction of the number of available hydrophobic patches during aggregation.

The aggregation mechanism of three antibodies in acidic conditions as well as differences and analogies in their stability behavior has been characterized.

In this work, amyloid fibrils are used as a template for the preparation of long silica fibers, with a variety of aspect ratios and surface roughness. Starting with β‐lactoglobulin fibrils with typical diameters of about 20 nm and a length of several micrometers, two different strategies are followed to grow silica: either in water at acidic pH values, or in ethanol–water mixtures under Stöber conditions and an excellent control of both the thickness and the roughness of the silica layer has been achieved. Silica nanofibers with a thickness ranging from a few nanometers to hundreds of nanometers are prepared. As an application, the rough silica nanotubes are used to create superhydrophobic surfaces by mimicking the structure of the lotus leaf. The papillary structure of the lotus leaf is replicated by depositing 10 μm colloidal particles in either a single colloidal crystal, or in a binary colloidal crystal made with smaller sub‐micrometer particles. Then, silica nanofibers are deposited on the binary colloidal crystal surfaces through a layer‐by‐layer deposition procedure to replicate the nanoscale roughness provided by wax nanotubes. Upon hydrophobization of the silica nanotubes, the final surfaces are highly superhydrophobic, with a water contact angle of 165.5°.