Protein-derived smart materials for medical applications: elastin-like polypeptides.

Protein-derived smart materials for medical applications: elastin-like polypeptides. Curr Pharm Des. 2018 Sep 03;: Authors: Lin R, Wang S, Liu W Abstract A group of stimulus-responsive biopolymers developed from the hydrophobic domain of tropoelastin are collectively known as elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). These peptides generally consist of repeated pentapeptide units of the form (VPGXG)n, where X can be any amino acid with the exception of proline. ELPs present wide-ranging possibilities in biomedicine due to their many beneficial characteristics, including tunable phase transition behavior and biological compatibility, along with the absence of immunogenic and pyrogenic characteristics. The present paper reviews the physicochemical characteristics of ELPs and outlines a range of applications in biotechnology and medicine. PMID: 30179124 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Curr Pharm Des Source Type: research