Polypeptide-Based Silicate Layered Nanocomposite: Effect of Poly(L-lysine) Secondary Conformation on Physical Properties of the Hybrid

摘要

The design of nanocomposites from polypeptides can offer a wide range of opportunities in the field of bioinspired materials. These materials are inherently biodegradable and potentially biocompatible, while simultaneously offering mechanical properties comparable to engineering thermoplastics. This offers a novel pathway for design of materials with “green” degradation routes. It has been found that polymers with in vivo degradable pathways are suitable candidates for design of composites as advanced biomaterials. These have immense potential for use as surgical implants, blood vessels, sutures, or drug-delivery matrices. One of the primary reasons that makes these composites so interesting is the fact that they can be designed with a priori functionalities embedded within the polypeptide chain that have specific roles to be achieved once delivered in the body.