College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China.
Adv Mater. 2022 May;34(19):e2200842. doi: 10.1002/adma.202200842. Epub 2022 Apr 4.
The utility of unfolded structural proteins with diverse sequences offers multiple potentials to create functional biomaterials. However, it is challenging to overcome their structural defects for the development of biological fibers with a combination of high strength and high toughness. Herein, robust fibers from a recombinant unfolded protein consisting of resilin and supercharged polypeptide are fabricated via wet-spinning approaches. Particularly, the highly ordered structures induced by supramolecular complexation significantly improve the fiber's mechanical performance. In contrast to chemical fibers with high strength and low toughness (or vice versa), the present fibers demonstrate exceptional high strength and super-toughness, showing a breaking strength of ≈550 MPa and a toughness of ≈250 MJ m , respectively, surpassing many polymers and artificial protein fibers. Remarkably, the outstanding biocompatibility and superior mechanical properties allow application of the constructed fiber patches for efficient abdominal hernia repair in rat models. In stark contrast to clinical patches, there is no observed tissue adhesion by this treatment. Therefore, this work provides a new type of engineered protein material for surgical applications.
具有多种序列的未折叠结构蛋白的实用性为创造功能性生物材料提供了多种可能性。然而，要开发兼具高强度和高韧性的生物纤维，克服其结构缺陷具有挑战性。在此，通过湿法纺丝方法制备了由松弛素和超荷电多肽组成的重组未折叠蛋白的坚固纤维。特别地，超分子络合诱导的高度有序结构显著提高了纤维的机械性能。与高强度和低韧性（或反之亦然）的化学纤维相比，目前的纤维表现出异常的高强度和超韧性，分别表现出约 550 MPa 的断裂强度和约 250 MJ m 的韧性，超过了许多聚合物和人工蛋白纤维。值得注意的是，出色的生物相容性和卓越的机械性能使得构建的纤维贴片可用于大鼠模型中高效的腹部疝修复。与临床贴片形成鲜明对比的是，这种治疗方法没有观察到组织粘连。因此，这项工作为手术应用提供了一种新型工程蛋白材料。
