title: Elastic proteins and elastomeric protein alloys.
abstract: The elastomeric proteins elastin and resilin have been used extensively in the fabrication of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications due to their unique mechanical and biological properties. Tropoelastin is the soluble monomer component of elastin. Tropoelastin and resilin are both highly elastic with high resilience, substantial extensibility, high durability and low energy loss, which makes them excellent candidates for the fabrication of elastic tissues that demand regular and repetitive movement like the skin, lung, blood vessels, muscles and vocal folds. Combinations of these proteins with silk fibroin further enhance their biomechanical and biological properties leading to a new class of protein alloy materials with versatile properties. In this review, the properties of tropoelastin-based and resilin-based biomaterials with and without silk are described in concert with examples of their applications in tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Bosch Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Behnaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aghaei-Ghareh-Bolagh
authors.affiliation: Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Bosch Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mithieux
authors.affiliation: Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Bosch Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: tony.weiss@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Anthony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000494:pharmacology; D004548:Elasticity; D020724:Elastomers; D006801:Humans; D011108:Polymers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020724:Elastomers; D011108:Polymers; D011506:Proteins; C036925:elastomeric polymer