Molecular Mechanism of Reflectin Structural Assembly Revealed by Small Angle Scattering
Abstract
Reflectin, so named because of its high refractive index, is expressed exclusively in cephalopods and forms reflectors responsible for dynamic iridescence and structural color change. This delicate system may empower cephalopods to reflect light from the surroundings and blend into any environment without the need to know the colors being mimicked. However, how tunable reflectors made from reflectin protein and how cephalopods use their tunable iridescence for camouflage remains unknown. To investigate the assembly of reflectin in the presence of small molecules such as Imidazole, Histamine and Octopamine, we performed small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments on the mixture solution of reflectin and small molecules under various conditions. The measured scattering intensity profiles and the corresponding radii of gyration R_g suggest the structural change in reflectin assembly upon addition of small molecules. Our study elucidate the molecular mechanism of reflectin-mediated structural coloration and bio-invisibility, with a perspective for bioinspired photonic materials.
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation award 1616008.- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018APS..MARA50009Z