Detalle de: Natural Fibrous Proteins: Structural Analysis, Assembly, and Applications

This chapter provides an overview of natural fibrous proteins, their function, structure, and assembly (naturally, in disease and in the laboratory). It reviews efforts in using fibrous proteins in biotechnology and materials science. The fibrous proteins discussed are intracellular fibrous proteins, extracellular fibrous proteins, virus and bacteriophage fibers, and amyloid-type fibrous proteins and silk. It talks about alpha-helical structures, structures containing beta-pleated sheets, and collagen fold. The repetitive building blocks of the natural fibrous proteins described in this chapter provide useful models for the design of artificial fibrous polymers. Fibrous structural motifs can serve as rich sources of inspiration for the design and engineering of novel biomaterials.