Silk is a source of marvel for centuries as one of nature's high‐performance materials. More recently, chemical and structural analysis techniques have helped explore the relationship between silk's properties and its hierarchical structure. Furthermore, recombinant protein engineering as well as polymer and organic synthesis techniques have enabled the production of silk‐like materials. It has become apparent that silk is a supramolecular polymer with many of the properties exhibited by well‐known synthetic supramolecular materials, such as block copolymers, liquid crystals, thermoplastic elastomers, and self‐assembling peptides. In this review, the hierarchical structure and supramolecular assembly of silk are discussed in comparison to these synthetic supramolecular systems. By focusing on the connections between chemical structure, nanoscale molecular organization, and material properties, the aim is to provide perspectives on the rational design of advanced soft matter to supramolecular chemists and molecular engineers who look to nature for inspiration.

中文翻译：

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丝绸和类似丝绸的超分子材料

丝绸作为自然界的一种高性能材料，在过去的几个世纪中一直是奇迹的来源。最近，化学和结构分析技术已帮助探索丝绸的特性与其层次结构之间的关系。此外，重组蛋白工程以及聚合物和有机合成技术已使丝绸样材料的生产成为可能。显而易见，丝绸是一种超分子聚合物，具有众所周知的合成超分子材料所具有的许多特性，例如嵌段共聚物，液晶，热塑性弹性体和自组装肽。在这篇综述中，与这些合成的超分子系统相比，对丝绸的层次结构和超分子组装进行了讨论。通过关注化学结构之间的联系，