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Multifunctional SilkTropoelastin Biomaterial Systems
Author(s) -
Ghezzi Chiara E.,
RnjakKovacina Jelena,
Weiss Anthony S.,
Kaplan David L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.201300082
Subject(s) - tropoelastin , silk , biomaterial , tissue engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , mesenchymal stem cell , biomedical engineering , extracellular matrix , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , engineering , biochemistry , biology , composite material
New multifunctional, degradable, polymeric biomaterial systems would provide versatile platforms to address cell and tissue needs in both in vitro and in vivo environments. While protein‐based composites or alloys are the building blocks of biological organisms, similar systems have not been largely exploited, to date, to generate ad hoc biomaterials able to control and direct biological functions by recapitulating their inherent structural and mechanical complexities. Therefore, we have recently proposed silktropoelastin material platforms that are able to conjugate a mechanically robust and durable protein, silk, to a highly flexible and biologically active protein, tropoelastin. This review focuses on the elucidation of the interactions between silk and tropoelastin to control the structure of the material its properties, and ultimately functions. In addition, an approach is provided for novel material designs to provide tools to control biological outcomes through surface roughness, elasticity, and net charge for neuronal and mesenchymal stem‐cell‐based tissue engineering.