Photoreactive elastin-like proteins for use as versatile bioactive materials and surface coatings

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Protein Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Developing advanced biomaterials is crucial for regenerative medicine and medical implants.
• Existing materials often lack the necessary combination of processability, bioactivity, and controlled crosslinking.
• Protein-engineered materials offer a tunable platform for creating next-generation biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a photocrosslinkable, protein-engineered biomaterial with tunable properties.
• To demonstrate the scalability and versatility of the material's synthesis and processing.
• To evaluate the cytocompatibility and cell-interactive capabilities of the engineered protein biomaterial.

Main Methods:

• Functionalization of elastin-like protein with photoreactive diazirine moieties.
• Site-specific modification using a heterobifunctional N-hydroxysuccinimide ester-diazirine crosslinker.
• Fabrication of 2D and 3D structures via spin coating, drop casting, lithography, and molding.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of photocrosslinkable elastin-like protein biomaterials.
• Demonstrated processability into various forms (films, scaffolds) with nanoscale to millimeter feature sizes.
• Maintained protein stability over three weeks and preserved cell-adhesive functionality post-crosslinking.
• Enhanced cell adhesion and spreading of human adipose-derived stem cells on the engineered protein films.

Conclusions:

• Recombinantly engineered proteins offer a scalable and versatile platform for creating advanced bioactive biomaterials.
• Photocrosslinking provides a rapid and controllable method for fabricating complex biomaterial architectures.
• These protein-engineered materials show significant promise for applications in implant coatings, drug delivery, and tissue engineering scaffolds.