Biological and Structural Characterization of a Naturally Inspired Material Engineered from Elastin as a Candidate for Tissue Engineering Applications

• Published in: Langmuir Vol. 29; no. 51; pp. 15898 - 15906
• Main Authors: Vassalli, Massimo, Sbrana, Francesca, Laurita, Alessandro, Papi, Massimiliano, Bloise, Nora, Visai, Livia, Bochicchio, Brigida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 23.12.2013
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biomimetic Materials - chemistry; Biomimetic Materials - metabolism; Biomimetic Materials - toxicity; Cell Line, Tumor - metabolism; Exons - genetics; Humans; Mechanical Phenomena; Medical sciences; Mice; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides - chemistry; Peptides - metabolism; Peptides - toxicity; Temperature; Tissue Engineering; Toxicology; Tropoelastin - genetics; Characterization; Bioinspired material; Peptides; Tissue engineering; Elastin; Biomedical application; Protein
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/la403311x

The adoption of a biomimetic approach in the design and fabrication of innovative materials for biomedical applications is encountering a growing interest. In particular, new molecules are being engineered on the basis of proteins present in the extracellular matrix, such as fibronectin, collagen, or elastin. Following this approach scientists expect to be able not only to obtain materials with tailored mechanical properties but also to elicit specific biological responses inherited by the mimicked tissue. In the present work, a novel peptide, engineered starting from the sequence encoded by exon 28 of human tropoelastin, was characterized from a chemical, physical, and biological point of view. The obtained molecule was observed to aggregate at high temperatures, forming a material able to induce a biological effect similar to what elastin does in the physiological context. This material seems to be a good candidate to play a relevant role in future biomedical applications with special reference to vascular surgery.