The concept of biomaterials has evolved from one of inert mechanical supports with a long-term, biologically inactive role in the body into complex matrices that exhibit selective cell binding, promote proliferation and matrix production, and may ultimately become replaced by newly generated tissues in vivo. Functionalization of material surfaces with biomolecules is critical to their ability to evade immunorecognition, interact productively with surrounding tissues and extracellular matrix, and avoid bacterial colonization. Antibody molecules and their derived fragments are commonly immobilized on materials to mediate coating with specific cell types in fields such as stent endothelialization and drug delivery. The incorporation of growth factors into biomaterials has found application in promoting and accelerating bone formation in osteogenerative and related applications. Peptides and extracellular matrix proteins can impart biomolecule- and cell-specificities to materials while antimicrobial peptides have found roles in preventing biofilm formation on devices and implants. In this progress report, we detail developments in the use of diverse proteins and peptides to modify the surfaces of hard biomaterials in vivo and in vitro. Chemical approaches to immobilizing active biomolecules are presented, as well as platform technologies for isolation or generation of natural or synthetic molecules suitable for biomaterial functionalization.
The correct immobilization of the antibody component is one of the most critical steps in the development of immunoassays, immunosensors and immunochromatography matrices. Advances in hybridoma technology and protein engineering have allowed traditional limitations of polyreactivity of antibody preparations, poor device stability and random orientation of binding pockets to be largely overcome, resulting in stable, sensitive, highly specific and enormously diverse immunoplatforms with applications in diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food and public safety. In this Chapter we introduce antibody structure and antibody-derived fragments, describe the most common methods of their immobilization and discuss ‘traditional’ applications of immobilized antibodies such as enzyme immunoassays and immunoaffinity chromatography, as well as exciting emerging uses in immunosensors, microarrays and nanomedicine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.