Recombinant Technology in the Development of Materials and Systems for Soft‐Tissue Repair

Abstract

The field of biomedicine is constantly investing significant research efforts in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that govern the function of body compartments and to develop creative solutions for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues.The main overall goal is to develop relatively simple systems that are able to mimic naturally occurring constructs and can therefore be used in regenerative medicine.Recombinant technology, which is widely used to obtain new tailored synthetic genes that express polymeric protein-based structures, now offers a broad range of advantages for that purpose by permitting the tuning of biological and mechanical properties depending on the 2 intended application while simultaneously ensuring adequate biocompatibility and biodegradability of the scaffold formed by the polymers. This review is focused on recombinant protein-based materials that resemble naturally occurring proteins of interest for use in soft tissue repair. An overview of recombinant biomaterials derived from elastin, silk, collagen and resilin will be given, along with a description of their characteristics and suggested applications. Current endeavors in this field are continuously providing moreimproved materials in comparison with conventional ones. As such, a great effort is being made to put these materials through clinical trials in order to favor their future use.

Biocompatibility of two model elastin‐like recombinamer‐based hydrogels formed through physical or chemical cross‐linking for various applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

“…Novel biomaterials with a different nature and origin are currently being designed to overcome these issues (Veiseh et al, ). Among them, we can identify recombinant protein‐based biomaterials, which promise a significant improvement in the functionality thereof that has already been demonstrated in many cases (Girotti, Orbanic, Ibáñez‐Fonseca, Gonzalez‐Obeso, & Rodríguez‐Cabello, ). Although these materials have been evaluated in terms of physicochemical and mechanical properties, and in some cases in vitro cytotoxicity, their biocompatibility has not been extensively studied.…”

“…Novel biomaterials with a different nature and origin are currently being designed to overcome these issues (Veiseh et al, 2015). Among them, we can identify recombinant protein-based biomaterials, which promise a significant improvement in the functionality thereof that has already been demonstrated in many cases (Girotti, Orbanic, Ibáñez-Fonseca, Gonzalez-Obeso, & Rodríguez-Cabello, 2015).…”

3D silicon doped hydroxyapatite scaffolds decorated with Elastin-like Recombinamers for bone regenerative medicine

“…Besides, these polymers show unmatched characteristics in terms of biocompatibility [11] [11], and combine a strong tendency to self-assemble with an acute smart behaviour, depending on the polymeric architecture and environmental conditions [12,13] [12,13]. Additionally, specific functionalities, such as cell-binding sequences that modulate cell adhesion through integrins, and other bioactive functions can be included in their structure by adding several peptide domains derived from different extracellular matrix (ECM) or non-ECM proteins [14,15] [14,15].…”

Genetically Engineered Elastin-based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications

“…In this regard, the physical building blocks utilized in tissue engineering must be as inherently safe and as similar to nature as possible [9]. Given their porous 3D structures and their ability to encapsulate cells and biomolecules and to control their release, hydrogels are the most widely used scaffolds for the regeneration and replacement of natural soft tissues [10].…”