Nanoscopic to macroscopic mechanical study of protein based hydrogel as a high performance material

Hydrogels are a complex network of polymers molecules that can retain large amounts of Water, and are used in a wide array of applications, ranging from water purification and soft electronics to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Predesign of their composition and local interconnections introduce the hydrogels with unique properties, such as stretchability and strong toughness. Protein based hydrogels outspread these features, since proteins can dramatically increase their length as they unfold from their native state. Being a relatively new type of materials, with exceptional mechanical and biochemical properties, it is of great importance to understand how the bio-mechanical response of a protein at the single molecule level can be scaled to obtain protein-based To this end, innovative methods ranging from the single molecule level up to the macro scale level, as well as modeling, will be combined. Understanding this relation will provide the means for a rational design of advanced materials based on protein based hydrogels and for tailoring their properties through a bottom-up approach.