Extended Data Fig. 9 |. Mechanical and thermal properties of ferritin crystal-hydrogel hybrids.

a, Light-microscopy images showing the fragmentation of a native ferritin crystal and of a crystal-hydrogel hybrid upon application of external force with a needle at the location indicated with the arrow. The separation between the major ticks of the ruler is 100 μm. b, Temperature dependence of the SAXS profiles of native ferritin crystals and crystal-hydrogel hybrids. The small-angle reflections (that is, periodic order) in both samples are maintained at 80 °C (the maximal temperature experimentally attainable). c, Determination of the hardness and reduced modulus of native ferritin crystals and crystal-hydrogel hybrids using atomic force microscopy nanoindentation measurements. d, Light-microscopy images showing the expansion and contraction of a crystal-hydrogel hybrid containing Fe-loaded ferritin molecules. The separation between the major ticks of the ruler is 100 μm.