As the primary components of the molecular machinery that makes life possible, proteins have a vast array of resources available to them for biomolecular self-assembly. Take for instance the eukaryotic nucleus of a multicellular organism (such as a human). The organization of the information contained within this tiny compartment is so vast that scientists are only now beginning to attempt to understand it. Containing the compartment is the nuclear membrane, which is filled with proteins that pump nutrients in and messages out. Entwined within what is called the "nuclear matrix" is the entire human genome, containing about 3 meters worth of DNA, packed into an area of only a few cubic micrometers. Keeping it all under control are then histones and thousands of other (non-histone) proteins that carry out processes such as transcription and translation. Each of these proteins has the appropriate information encoded within its peptide sequence for getting it to the location where it can do its job. In order for each of our cells to produce those proteins required for its specific task, only certain genes can be transcribed in certain cells. Thus, a very important amount of information is contained not only in the sequence of the DNA, but in its spatial organization within the nucleus. For instance, when the nucleus divides, all the contents must be unraveled, copied, and then reassembled back into two daughters of the original organized state. All this is accomplished by means of biomolecular self-assembly.

Structural Proteins are generally called "fibrous" because they often have a fiber like nature. With names such as collagen, keratin, elastin, tubulin and fibroin, fibrous proteins self-assemble (often covalently) into large polymers that provide various nano- meso- and even macro-scale structures. Even our most modern synthetic polymers can not compete with fibrous proteins such as fibroin (silk) when it comes to strength, flexibility and overall molecular scale order. Thus, serious efforts are underway to better understand and take advantage of fibrous self-assembly.

Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Keywords: fibrous protein nuclear matrix transcription dis-assembley histones self-assembly structural collagen keratin elastin tubulin and fibroin nanotechnology