Elastomeric proteins made of tandemly arranged individually folded globular domains have been used as building blocks to construct protein hydrogels with tailored mechanical properties. However, classical rubber elasticity theory cannot be directly used to describe the mechanical properties of such protein hydrogels, due to the fact that only part of the structure of such folded globular domains contributes to the elastic properties of the hydrogel network. Here, we present a length equivalent molecular weight approach to adapt the classic rubber elasticity theory to such elastomeric protein-based hydrogels, fulfilling the practical purpose of predicting the mechanical properties of protein hydrogels semiquantitatively. The validity of this approach was tested using different elastomeric protein-based hydrogels. This new approach provides a practical tool to quantitatively predict/explain the mechanical properties of such elastomeric protein-based hydrogels and helps in the rational design of novel protein-based dynamic hydrogels for various applications.

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对串联模块化基于弹性蛋白的水凝胶力学性能的定量预测

由串联排列的单独折叠的球状结构域制成的弹性体蛋白质已被用作构建具有定制机械性能的蛋白质水凝胶的基础。但是，经典的橡胶弹性理论不能直接用于描述这种蛋白质水凝胶的机械性能，因为这样的事实，即这种折叠的球状结构域的结构只有一部分有助于水凝胶网络的弹性。在这里，我们提出了一种等价分子量的方法，以使经典的橡胶弹性理论适应此类基于弹性体蛋白质的水凝胶，从而达到半定量预测蛋白质水凝胶力学性能的实际目的。使用不同的基于弹性蛋白的水凝胶测试了该方法的有效性。