Elastin-like systems for tissue engineering

Publisher Summary Modern biomaterials science is characterized by a growing emphasis on identification of specific design parameters that are critical to performance, and by a growing appreciation of the need to integrate biomaterials design with new insights emerging from studies of cell-matrix interactions, cellular signaling processes, and developmental and systems biology. Elastin-Like Polymers (ELPs) are non-natural polypeptides composed of repeating sequences. They have their origin in the repeating sequences found in the mammalian elastic protein elastin that confers elasticity to structures such as skin and blood vessels. The importance of these polymers reside in the fact that they show a versatile and ample range of interesting properties that are difficult to find together in other materials, and that goes beyond their simple mechanical performance. Certainly, ELPs show a set of properties that places them in an excellent position towards designing advanced polymers for many different applications, including the most cutting edge biomedical and nanobiotechnological uses. Regarding their properties, some of their main characteristics are derived from the natural protein on which they are based.