Engineering membrane scaffolds with both physical and biomolecular signaling.

We report on the combination of a top-down and bottom-up approach to develop thin bioactive membrane scaffolds based on functional elastin-like polymers (ELPs). Our strategy combines ELP cross-linking and assembly, and a variety of standard and novel micro/nanofabrication techniques to create self-supporting membranes down to ∼500 nm thick that incorporate both physical and biomolecular signals, which can be easily tailored for a specific application. In this study we used an ELP that included the cell-binding motif arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine (RGDS).

Integrating top-down and self-assembly in the fabrication of peptide and protein-based biomedical materials.

The capacity to create an increasing variety of bioactive molecules that are designed to assemble in specific configurations has opened up tremendous possibilities in the design of materials with an unprecedented level of control and functionality. A particular challenge involves guiding such self-assembling interactions across scales, thus precisely positioning individual molecules within well-organized, highly-ordered structures. Such hierarchical control is essential if peptides and proteins are to serve as both structural and functional building blocks of biomedical materials.