Combinatorial Approach to the Design of Protein-based Biopolymers

摘要

Biopolymers tailored to have specific functional properties are crucial for task-specific applications ranging from healthcare to bio-nanodevices. To generate polymeric materials with predictive functional outcomes, an important strategy is to exploit designs from nature, while morphing them toward non-natural systems. Here we report a combinatorial approach, integrating recombinant DNA technology, thermal analysis, and scalable modeling, to design and fabricate biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymers with specific stimuli-responsive features. Sequence features of these responsive biopolymers, silk-elastin-like proteins (SELPs), include the elastin domain, GXGVP, as the soft domain providing elasticity and dynamic features, and the silk domain, GAGAGS, as the hard domain providing mechanical stiffness. The inverse transition temperature of SELPs were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry and replica exchange molecular dynamics. These studies provide specific insights into the role of molecular weight, silk to elastin ratio, and elastin mutation for stimuli-responsive biopolymer design. The development of these dynamic protein biomaterials based on SELPs suggests new possibilities for controlled release and soft robotics.