Credit: Image courtesy of Davoud Ebrahimi, MIT
Simulated head piece domain of the integrin, based on molecular dynamics modeling. A) Integrin in solution. B) Integrin in contact with silica surface, modeled as having 4.7 silanol groups per nm2 and 0.45 siloxide groups per nm2.[51] C) Integrin in contact with silk-chimera protein surface. Green: Hybrid domain of the β leg; Blue: βA domain of the β leg; Red: propeller domain of the α leg; Purple: silk-chimera protein; Orange: silica surface; Yellow: Mg2+ cation; Cyan: Ca2+ cation. Water molecules are not shown for clarity.