Proteins for Hyperelastic Materials

作者：Rui Su, Chao Ma, Bing Han, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu · 发表于：Small · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/smll.202406388 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Silk-based biomaterials and applications、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties、Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications

Meticulous engineering and the yielded hyperelastic performance of structural proteins represent a new frontier in developing next-generation functional biomaterials. These materials exhibit outstanding and programmable mechanical properties, including elasticity, resilience, toughness, and active biological characteristics, such as degradability and tissue repairability, compared with their chemically synthetic counterparts. However, there are several critical issues regarding the preparation approaches of hyperelastic protein-based materials: limited natural sequence modules, non-hierarchical assembly, and imbalance between compressive and tensile elasticity, leading to unmet demands. Therefore, it is pivotal to develop an alternative strategy for biofabricating hyperelastic materials. Herein, the molecular design, engineering, and property regulation of hyperelastic structural proteins are overviewed. First, methodologies for deeper exploration of mechanical modules, including machine learning-aided de novo design, random mutations of natural sequences, and multiblock fusion techniques, are actively introduced. These methodologies facilitate the generation of elastomeric protein modules and demonstrate enhanced structural and functional versatility. Subsequently, assembly tactics of hyperelastic proteins (i.e., physical modulation, genetic adaptations, and chemical modifications) are reviewed, yielding hierarchically ordered structures. Finally, advances in biophysical tec...