Nematic field transfer in a two-dimensional protein fibril assembly

Abstract

We perform Atomic Force Microscopy and numerical simulations of a bimodal solution containing long, semiflexible β-lactoglobulin fibrils and short, flexible β-lactoglobulin linear aggregates at an air–water interface. Short aggregates orient perpendicular to fibrils at very short distances and preferentially parallel at intermediate distances. At even larger distances an isotropic distribution is observed. Parallel ordering coincides with aggregate stretching: by straightening, small aggregates are able to approach the fibrils within a distance smaller than their radius of gyration. These findings contribute to the understanding of how anisotropic interactions are transferred in two-dimensional bimodal nematic fields of biopolymers at liquid interfaces.