Templated Native Silk Smectic Gels

摘要

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing a fibrous protein smectic hydrogel by way of a solvent templating process, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; and collecting the resulting fibrous protein smectic hydrogel and allowing it to dry. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of obtaining predominantly one enantiomer from a racemic mixture, comprising the steps of pouring an aqueous fibrous protein solution into a container comprising a solvent that is not miscible with water; sealing the container and allowing it to age at about room temperature; allowing the enantiomers of racemic mixture to diffuse selectively into the smectic hydrogel in solution; removing the smectic hydrogel from the solution; rinsing predominantly one enantiomer from the surface of the smectic hydrogel; and extracting predominantly one enantiomer from the interior of the smectic hydrogel. The present invention also relates to a smectic hydrogel prepared according to an aforementioned method.

主权项

1. A method of preparing a fibrous protein smectic hydrogel, comprising:
a. contacting an aqueous fibrous protein solution with a solvent that is not miscible with water; b. allowing the solution in contact with the solvent to age at about room temperature or under conditions preventing evaporation or both; and c. collecting the resulting fibrous protein smectic hydrogel; and optionally allowing the hydrogel to dry.