The Structure of Animal Silks -- The Structure of Collagen -- The Structure of Elastin -- The Structure of Resilin -- The Structure of Keratin -- General Methods to Produce and Assemble Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins -- Self-Assembly of Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin -- Synthesis and Assembly of Recombinant Collagen -- Recombination and Purification of Elastin-Like Polypeptides -- Methods to Synthesize and Assemble Recombinant Keratins -- Preparation of Amyloid Fibers Using Recombinant Technology -- Molecular Biology Methods to Construct Recombinant Fibrous Protein -- Isolation of Nanofibrils from Animal Silks -- Gelation Methods to Assemble Fibrous Proteins -- Spinning Methods Used for The Construction of One- and Two-Dimensional Fibrous Protein Materials -- Three-Dimensional Printing to Build Fibrous Protein Architectures -- The Methods of Using Synchrotron FTIR Microspectroscopy to Understand the Conformation of Single Animal Silk Fibers -- The Protocol of Using FTIR Imaging to Investigate Silk Fibroin-Based Materials -- Secondary Structure Analysis of Single Silk Nanofibril through Infrared Nanospectroscopy -- The Method of Using Raman Spectroscopy to Understand the Conformation of Fibrous Proteins -- Structural Characterization of Silk Fibers by Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering -- Structural Characterization of Silk Fibers by Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering.

This detailed volume explores fibrous proteins widely present in different biological tissues or biological structural materials. The book begins by introducing the structure of representative fibrous proteins, including animal silks, collagen, elastin, resilin, and keratin, and it then continues by providing detailed experimental protocols for the synthesis, assembly, and characterization of natural, regenerated, and recombinant fibrous proteins. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Fibrous Proteins: Design, Synthesis, and Assembly is an ideal guide for researchers aiming to master fibrous protein preparations with the aid of this broad and interdisciplinary perspective on understanding the structure-property-function relationships of natural and reconstituted fibrous proteins.