Conjugated polyelectrolytes are demonstrated to permit facile staining of recombinant spider silk fibres. We find that the polyelectrolyte concentration and pH of the staining solution as well as the incubation temperature strongly influence the efficiency of this self-assembly process, which appears to be principally mediated through favourable electrostatic interactions. Thus, depending on the choice of staining conditions as well as the polyelectrolyte, electrically conductive or photoluminescent recombinant silk fibres could be produced. In addition, staining of natural Bombyx mori silk is established, which emphasises the versatility of the here advanced approach to functionalise silk-based materials.

In this study the fully acidic form of PEDOT-S was used for the purpose of self-assembly onto DNA. We have previously shown that PEDOT-S is a short polymer that is self-doped with !1/3 of the sulfonate side groups acting as the self-doping sites (see supporting info.). The remaining sulfonate groups contribute to a net anionic charge, and a water-soluble polymer, with an intrinsic bulk conductivity of around 30 S/cm. It has been shown that PEDOT-S can bind to oppositely charged cationic amyloid protein structures in water and form conducting nano fibrillar networks, and it has also been shown to form hybrid structures with synthetic peptides, and gold nanoparticles.

Electrical interfaces between biological cells and man-made electrical devices exist in many forms, but it remains a challenge to bridge the different mechanical and chemical environments of electronic conductors (metals, semiconductors) and biosystems. Here we demonstrate soft electrical interfaces, by integrating the metallic polymer PEDOT-S into lipid membranes. By preparing complexes between alkyl-ammonium salts and PEDOT-S we were able to integrate PEDOT-S into both liposomes and in lipid bilayers on solid surfaces. This is a step towards efficient electronic conduction within lipid membranes. We also demonstrate that the PEDOT-S@alkyl-ammonium: lipid hybrid structures created in this work affect ion channels in the membrane of Xenopus oocytes, which shows the possibility to access and control cell membrane structures with conductive polyelectrolytes.

Herein we report on the investigation of self-assembled protein nanofibrils functionalized with metallic organic compounds. We have characterized the electronic behaviour of individual nanowires using conductive atomic force microscopy. In order to follow the self assembly process we have incorporated fluorescent molecules into the protein and used the energy transfer between the internalized dye and the metallic coating to probe the binding of the polyelectrolyte to the fibril.

Herein we utilize insulin to prepare amyloid based chiral heliceswith either right or left handed helicity. We demonstrate that thehelices can be utilized as structural templates for the conductingpolymer alkoxysulfonate poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT-S).The chirality of the helical assembly is transferred to PEDOT-S asdemonstrated by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and CircularDichroism (CD). Analysis of the helices by conductive atomic force(c-AFM) shows significant conductivity. In addition the morphologyof the template structure is stabilized by PEDOT-S. Theseconductive helical structures represent promising candidates in ourquest for THz resonators.