Tabatabai, A. Pasha Partlow, Benjamin P. Raia, Nicole R. Kaplan, David L. Blair, Daniel L. Silk Molecular Weight Influences the Kinetics of Enzymatically Cross-linked Silk Hydrogel Formation We transform reconstituted silk solutions into robust hydrogels through covalent dityrosine cross-linking resulting from an enzymatic reaction. The bulk rheological properties and the covalent dityrosine bond formation of these gels are measured during polymerization. We compare the time-resolved bond formation to the mechanical properties, where we find that the gelation process is consistent with a model of percolation. The molecular weight of the protein determines whether a secondary mode of growth postpercolation exists, indicating that molecular weight changes affect the mechanisms by which these gels polymerize. silk Molecular Weight Influences;reconstituted silk solutions;bulk rheological properties;weight changes;covalent dityrosine cross-linking;Enzymatically Cross-linked Silk Hydrogel Formation;protein;hydrogel;time-resolved bond formation;mechanism;polymerization;gelation process;growth postpercolation;covalent dityrosine bond formation;polymerize;model;mode;Kinetic 2018-11-13
    https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Silk_Molecular_Weight_Influences_the_Kinetics_of_Enzymatically_Cross-linked_Silk_Hydrogel_Formation/7388681
10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02950.s002