Emerging opportunities in bioconjugates of Elastin-like polypeptides with synthetic or natural polymers

Nature is an everlasting source of inspiration for chemical and polymer scientists seeking to develop ever more innovative materials with greater performances. Natural structural proteins are particularly scrutinized to design biomimetic materials. Often characterized by repeat peptide sequences, that together interact by inter- and intramolecular interactions and form a 3D skeleton, they contribute to the mechanical properties of individual cells, tissues, organs, and whole organisms. (Numata, K. Polymer Journal 2020, 52, 1043-1056) Among them elastin, and its main repeat sequences, have been a source of intense studies for more than 50 years resulting in the specific research field dedicated to elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). These are currently widely investigated in different applications, namely protein purification, tissue engineering, and drug delivery, and some technologies based on ELPs are currently explored by several start-up companies. In the present review, we have summarized pioneering contributions on ELPs, progress made in their genetic engineering, and understanding of their thermal behavior and self-assembly properties. Considered as intrinsically disordered protein polymers, we have finally focused on the works where ELPs have been conjugated to other synthetic macromolecules as covalent hybrid, statistical, graft, or block copolymers, highlighting the huge opportunities that have still not been explored so far.