Cephalopod-Mimetic Tunable Photonic Coatings Assembled from Quasi-Monodispersed Reflectin Protein Nanoparticles

Jun Jie Loke, Shawn Hoon, Ali Miserez*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The remarkable dynamic camouflage ability of cephalopods arises from precisely orchestrated structural changes within their chromatophores and iridophores photonic cells. This mesmerizing color display remains unmatched in synthetic coatings and is regulated by swelling/deswelling of reflectin protein nanoparticles, which alters platelet dimensions in iridophores to control photonic patterns according to Bragg's law. Toward mimicking the photonic response of squid's skin, reflectin proteins from Sepioteuthis lessioniana were sequenced, recombinantly expressed, and self-assembled into spherical nanoparticles by conjugating reflectin B1 with a click chemistry ligand. These quasi-monodisperse nanoparticles can be tuned to any desired size in the 170-1000 nm range. Using Langmuir-Schaefer and drop-cast deposition methods, ligand-conjugated reflectin B1 nanoparticles were immobilized onto azide-functionalized substrates via click chemistry to produce monolayer amorphous photonic structures with tunable structural colors based on average particle size, paving the way for the fabrication of eco-friendly, bioinspired color-changing coatings that mimic cephalopods' dynamic camouflage.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)21436-21452
Number of pages17
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume14
Issue number18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 11 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Chemical Society.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Materials Science

Keywords

  • amorphous structural coloration
  • Cephalopod
  • click chemistry
  • Langmuir-Schaefer
  • monolayer
  • protein nanoparticles
  • reflectin

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