title: Intein-triggered artificial protein hydrogels that support the immobilization of bioactive proteins.
abstract: Protein hydrogels have important applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biofabrication. We present the development of a novel self-assembling protein hydrogel triggered by mixing two soluble protein block copolymers, each containing one half of a split intein. Mixing these building blocks initiates an intein trans-splicing reaction that yields a hydrogel that is highly stable over a wide range of pH (6-10) and temperature (4-50 °C), instantaneously recovers its mechanical properties after shear-induced breakdown, and is compatible with both aqueous and organic solvents. Incorporating a "docking station" peptide into the hydrogel building blocks enables simple and stable immobilization of docking protein-fused bioactive proteins in the hydrogel. This intein-triggered protein hydrogel technology opens new avenues for both in vitro metabolic pathway construction and functional/biocompatible tissue engineering scaffolds and provides a convenient platform for immobilizing enzymes in industrial biocatalysis.
authors.affiliation: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Dongli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ugaz
authors.forename: Zhilei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D047668:Inteins; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D011506:Proteins