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Download fileSilk Molecular Weight Influences the Kinetics of Enzymatically Cross-linked Silk Hydrogel Formation
journal contribution
posted on 2018-11-13, 00:00 authored by A. Pasha Tabatabai, Benjamin P. Partlow, Nicole R. Raia, David L. Kaplan, Daniel L. BlairWe 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.
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silk Molecular Weight Influencesreconstituted silk solutionsbulk rheological propertiesweight changescovalent dityrosine cross-linkingEnzymatically Cross-linked Silk Hydrogel Formationproteinhydrogeltime-resolved bond formationmechanismpolymerizationgelation processgrowth postpercolationcovalent dityrosine bond formationpolymerizemodelmodeKinetic