Generation of Synthetic Elastin-Mimetic Small Diameter Fibers and Fiber Networks

Abstract

Elastin-mimetic peptide polymers have been synthesized, and the morphological properties of fabricated small diameter fibers and nonwoven fabrics have been characterized. An 81 kDa recombinant protein based upon the repeating elastomeric peptide sequence of elastin (Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly)4(Val-Pro-Gly-Lys-Gly) was obtained through bacterial expression of an oligomerized gene coding for tandem repeats of the monomer. The protein was processed into fibers by an electrospinning technique and morphology defined by SEM and TEM. The choice of processing parameters influenced both fiber diameter and morphology with diameters varying between 200 and 3000 nm and three morphological patterns noted: beaded fibers, thin filaments, and broad ribbonlike structures. Detailed image analysis of nonwoven textile fabrics produced from elastin-mimetic fibers revealed that the distribution of single fiber orientation was isotropic with an associated unimodal distribution of protein fiber diameter. In a dry state, the ultimate tensile strength of nonwoven fabrics generated from elastin-mimetic peptides was 35 MPa with a material modulus of 1.8 GPa.

Biomimetic materials for tissue engineering

“…collagen, silk fibroin, and fibrinogen) and synthetic polymers (e.g. PGA, PLLA, PLGA, and PCL) have been processed into fine nonwoven fabrics for tissue engineering research [48,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. Various cells have been reported to attach, proliferate, and differentiate into or maintain their functional phenotypes on these electrospun nano-fibrous materials [48,54,58,59,61,62].…”

Development of non-woven nanofibers of egg albumen-poly (vinyl alcohol) blends: influence of solution properties on morphology of nanofibers

“…Nanofibers obtained using the electrospinning technique are considered more oriented and therefore exhibit better mechanical and thermal properties than do those obtained using other methods. [7][8][9][10] Hence, the development of nanofibers based on biopolymers is gaining increasing attention for applications in food, cosmetics and biomedicine. 1,4-6 At present, natural and synthetic polymer-based electrospun nanofibers 1,4-6 are used to fabricate filters, cosmetic skin masks, nanosensors, military protective clothing, control drug delivery matrices and wound dressings.…”

Nano Fibres by Electro spinning: Properties and Applications

“…107 Matthews et al 42 produced scaffolds composed of collagen nano fibres and found that the structural properties varied with the tissue of origin, the isotope and the concentration of the collagen solution. Huang et al 108 Produced collagen containing nano fibres and nonwoven fabrics that have potential application in wound healing, tissue engineering and as hemostatic agents. They also produced elastin-mimetic fibres from peptide polymer in order to mimic protein fibres that are found in arterial wall.…”