Emerging applications of multifunctional elastin-like recombinamers

Nanomedicine (Lond). 2011 Jan;6(1):111-22. doi: 10.2217/nnm.10.141.

Abstract

Elastin-like recombinamers have grown in popularity in the field of protein-inspired biomimetic materials and have found widespread use in biomedical applications. Modern genetic-engineering techniques have allowed the design of multifunctional materials with an extraordinary control over their architecture and physicochemical properties, such as stimuli-responsiveness, monodispersity, biocompatibility or self-assembly, amongst others. Indeed, these materials are playing an increasingly important role in a diverse range of applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and 'smart' systems. Herein, we review some of the most interesting examples of recent advances and progressive applications of elastin-like recombinamers in biomaterial and nano-engineering sciences in recent years.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
  • Biomimetic Materials / chemistry*
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods
  • Elastin / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure
  • Nanotechnology / methods
  • Tissue Engineering / methods

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Elastin