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. 2018 Oct 31;8(10):180113.
doi: 10.1098/rsob.180113.

The past, present and future of protein-based materials

Nadia C Abascal  1 , Lynne Regan  2
Affiliations

The past, present and future of protein-based materials

Nadia C Abascal et al. Open Biol. .

Abstract

Protein-based materials are finding new uses and applications after millennia of impacting the daily life of humans. Some of the earliest uses of protein-based materials are still evident in silk and wool textiles and leather goods. Today, even as silks, wools and leathers are still be used in traditional ways, these proteins are now seen as promising materials for biomaterials, vehicles of drug delivery and components of high-tech fabrics. With the advent of biosynthetic methods and streamlined means of protein purification, protein-based materials-recombinant and otherwise-are being used in a host of applications at the cutting edge of medicine, electronics, materials science and even fashion. This commentary aims to discuss a handful of these applications while taking a critical look at where protein-based materials may be used in the future.

Keywords: biomaterials; drug delivery; protein-based materials; recombinant proteins.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
All of the materials presented here have natural sources and conserved, repeated amino acids in their primary structures.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A dress designed by Stella McCartney using synthetic dragline silk. (Image via Bolt Threads.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The forms synthetic silk-based and other protein-based materials can take through various treatments. (Image adapted with permission from Advanced Materials.)
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Synthetic leather produced by the company Modern Meadows. (Photo from http://www.modernmeadow.com/our-technology.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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