Self-assembly/disassembly hysteresis of nanoparticles composed of marginally soluble, short elastin-like polypeptides.

Taken together, these results suggest marginally soluble ELPs may self-assemble but not disassemble as expected and that parameters including particle size, zeta potential and dilution resistance would benefit from widespread systematic evaluations. This information has the potential to reveal novel preparation methods capable of expanding the utility of all existing ELP-based biomaterials.