Amyloid Templated Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Aerogels

Abstract

This feature article covers the recent developments of amyloid fibrils as templates for organic-inorganic hybrid aerogels. It aims at introducing the reader to amyloid fibril functional bio-nanomaterials and to show how, building on the prior art of colloidal aerogels, these anisotropic colloids can be used to template inorganic particles and to form gels and aerogels. Specifically, hybrid organic-inorganic amyloid fibril templated gold, silver, and calcium aerogels are discussed focusing on their material synthesis and how the preparation conditions can be tuned to vary the final materials' optical, structural, and mechanical properties. The colloidal processing methodology offers a convenient route to form gels and aerogels that maintain the nanoscopic dispersion properties within the formed monoliths. These ultralight porous materials are appealing for a diverse set of applications within food, fine arts, jewelry, and biomedicine. Here their use as pressure sensor, catalysis membrane, and antibacterial material are described and further applications based on the properties of the specific inorganic particles and hybrid aerogels are discussed.

Amyloid Fibrils Aerogel for Sustainable Removal of Organic Contaminants from Water

“…The residue obtained after the complete decomposition consisted of remaining salts in the system, added during cross-linking and adjustment of the pH. [22,23] In order to remove organics from water using amyloid fibrils aerogel, we first demonstrate its binding performance in a visible way by adsorbing a dissolved dye (Crystal violet) onto aerogel and thus removing it from water without the need of flow or pressure. The images of a 10 ppm aqueous solution of Crystal violet before and after the treatment with aerogel are presented in Figure 1D.…”

“…Similar to other protein aerogels, around 50% of the total weight loss occurred in the temperature range of 300–500 °C. The residue obtained after the complete decomposition consisted of remaining salts in the system, added during cross‐linking and adjustment of the pH …”

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Proteins Through Rationally Designed Supramolecular Interfaces

“…Wang et al developed 2D periodic lattices via selfassembly of cylinder-shaped TMV disks, such structures can be used to modulate the organization of inorganic nanoparticles (AuNPs or QDs) into highly organized nanostructures from 0D to 2D sophisticated patterns (Zhang et al, 2019). Mezzenga et al used β-lactoglobulin (BLG) amyloid fibrils as templates for ultralight BLG-CaCO 3 (Shen et al, 2017) and BLG-AuNP hybrid aerogels (Nystrom et al, 2018). These specific hybrids materials might be the suitable candidates for catalysis, sensing, and environmental or biomedical applications.…”

Elastic Aerogels of Cellulose Nanofibers@Metal–Organic Frameworks for Thermal Insulation and Fire Retardancy

“…In comparison, polymer-based materials are often flexible and lightweight but suffer from the drawbacks of flammability and poor thermal stability [18]. Organic-inorganic hybridization, a general strategy for the design of functional hybrid materials, provides a feasible design route for hybrid nanocomposites with the potential to merge the advantages of the inorganic and organic components and eliminate their drawbacks [19][20][21][22][23]. For example, Zhao et al [24] prepared a type of silica-biopolymer aerogels exhibiting significantly improved mechanical properties compared to pure silica aerogels while remaining excellent thermal insulation properties; Kashiwagi et al [25] reported reduced flammability for poly(methyl methacrylate) after introducing carbon nanotubes.…”