Electrodeposited Gels Prepared from Protein Alloys

Abstract

Aim Silk-tropoelastin alloys, composed of recombinant human tropoelastin and regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin, are an emerging, versatile class of biomaterials endowed with tunable combinations of physical and biological properties. Electrodeposition of these alloys provides a programmable means to assemble functional gels with both spatial and temporal controllability. Materials & methods Tropoelastin-modified silk was prepared by enzymatic coupling between tyrosine residues. Hydrogel coatings were electrodeposited using two wire electrodes. Results & discussion Mechanical characterization and in vitro cell culture revealed enhanced adhesive capability and cellular response of these alloy gels as compared with electrogelled silk alone. Conclusion These electro-depositable silk-tropoelastin alloys constitute a suitable coating material for nanoparticle-based drug carriers and offer a novel opportunity for on-demand encapsulation/release of nanomedicine.

Identification of Multiple Dityrosine Bonds in Materials Composed of the Drosophila Protein Ultrabithorax

“…The reversibility of disulfide bonds enables materials' strength and stability to be responsive to external conditions . In contrast, dityrosine bonds are useful when the mechanical properties must be consistent in a variety of chemical environments, reflecting their inclusion in many natural and engineered materials, including resilin, silk, fibrinogen, keratin, elastin, and collagen . In many cases, photocrosslinking is used to rapidly form dityrosine bonds throughout a material .…”

“…In contrast, dityrosine bonds are useful when the mechanical properties must be consistent in a variety of chemical environments, reflecting their inclusion in many natural and engineered materials, including resilin, silk, fibrinogen, keratin, elastin, and collagen . In many cases, photocrosslinking is used to rapidly form dityrosine bonds throughout a material . Dityrosine crosslinks have also been used to drive assembly of proteins or peptides that would not otherwise form materials, or to covalently link multiple proteins for materials assembly .…”

“…In many cases, photocrosslinking is used to rapidly form dityrosine bonds throughout a material . Dityrosine crosslinks have also been used to drive assembly of proteins or peptides that would not otherwise form materials, or to covalently link multiple proteins for materials assembly . However, the specific amino acids that form these bonds in protein‐based materials have not been identified, information that is vital for engineering the sequence to control bond formation, and hence the structure and mechanical properties of the resulting materials.…”

Silk-fibronectin protein alloy fibres support cell adhesion and viability as a high strength, matrix fibre analogue

“…Similar to their namesake of metal alloys, protein alloys are chemically36 or physically37 bonded mixtures of component proteins that synergize elements of their constitutive parts when processed into a usable form. Through wet spinning, we gain flexibility to incorporate new elements without sacrificing the biomimetic nature of the approach, which allows us to incorporate Fn molecules within the silk superstructure rather than simply being a surface modification.…”

Fusing Sensor Paradigms to Acquire Chemical Information: An Integrative Role for Smart Biopolymeric Hydrogels

“…Interestingly, films were also prepared using two proteins, regenerated silk and hydrophobically‐modified tropoelastin. These proteins were first enzymatically conjugated using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to create the dityrosine crosslinks between proteins and then the protein conjugates were electrodeposited …”