Dityrosine Cross-Linking in Designing Biomaterials

The development of functional biomaterials for tissue engineering and medical applications has received increasing attention. While it has been known for decades that dityrosine bonds are a key component to many biopolymer materials in native tissues, only recently have these motifs been exploited in the development of new biomaterials. Here, we first review the importance of tyrosine-tyrosine chemical bonds in the assembly and mechanical properties of natural materials. Next, we discuss the chemistries available for cross-linking via tyrosine bonds and how these interactions have been applied to biomaterials. The goal of this Review is to highlight dityrosine bonding in biomaterial development, the reactions used to form them, and their utility in cross-linking native and chemically substituted phenolic side chains, as an underutilized tool in the de novo development of biomaterials.