Protein-Based Robotic Materials for Healing and Propulsion

Recent progress in soft robotics has motivated the search for new robotic materials and actuators that can replicate biological functions and behaviors (such as sensing, healing, powering, etc.) with various degrees of autonomy and complexity. Proteins are uniquely well-positioned to bring new solutions to these challenges, as they offer high versatility, specificity, and control in their self-assembly to regulate their emergent structures and properties. In this talk, we will introduce cephalopod-inspired proteins with a segmented block design that self-assemble into β-sheet nanocrystalline structures. These β-sheet nanocrystals act as physical and reversible crosslinking structures in supramolecular protein networks that regulate the physical properties. We demonstrate the dynamic properties of squid-inspired polypeptides in self-healing protein networks with healing strength and kinetics surpassing those typically found in other natural and synthetic soft polymers, and in self-regulated porous structures for chemically-powered microrobot propulsion. This family of cephalopod proteins and their biosynthetic derivatives have opened new opportunities in bioinspired design for adaptive functional materials and soft devices with enhanced autonomy and durability, and we will demonstrate their implementation in self-healing and reconfigurable soft actuators and in self-powered microrobots for aquatic locomotion.