Hydrogels made from proteins are attractive materials for diverse medical applications, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable, and amenable to chemical and biological modifications. Recent advances in protein engineering, synthetic biology, and material science have enabled the fine-tuning of protein sequences, hydrogel structures, and hydrogel mechanical properties, allowing for a broad range of biomedical applications using protein hydrogels. This article reviews recent progresses on protein hydrogels with special focus on those made of microbially produced proteins. We discuss different hydrogel formation strategies and their associated hydrogel properties. We also review various biomedical applications, categorized by the origin of protein sequences. Lastly, current challenges and future opportunities in engineering protein-based hydrogels are discussed. We hope this review will inspire new ideas in material innovation, leading to advanced protein hydrogels with desirable properties for a wide range of biomedical applications.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28134988 | DOI Listing |
ACS Nano
March 2025
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
The translocation dynamics of cells and particles through geometric constrictions are critical in biological and biomedical processes from splenic filtration to tumor metastasis. While particle stiffness plays a key role, its role in highly nonequilibrium states remains poorly understood. Here, we present a multiscale model to investigate the impact of particle stiffness on the translocation dynamics in microfluidic channels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
March 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
CRISPR-Cas9 systems have revolutionized biotechnology, creating diverse new opportunities for biomedical research and therapeutic genome and epigenome editing. Despite the abundance of bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 systems, relatively few are effective in human cells, limiting the overall potential of CRISPR technology. To expand the CRISPR-Cas toolbox, we characterized a set of type II CRISPR-Cas9 systems from select bacterial genera and species encoding diverse Cas9s.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrob Biotechnol
March 2025
Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
Recombinant human haemoglobin (rHb) is a tetramer protein with heme as cofactors, which have extensive applications in the fields of biomaterials and biomedical therapeutics. However, due to the poor structural stability, the dissociation of heme, weak oxygen transport efficiency, and lower activity, the utilisation of rHb is severely limited in artificial oxygen carriers. Herein, based on the novel developed high-throughput screening strategies and semi-rational design, the engineered rHb mutant with strong stability and heme-binding ability was obtained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadiol Med
March 2025
Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery Department, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
Aim: Despite the widespread use of immunotherapy (IO) and targeted therapy (TT) in clinical practice, data on toxicity in combination with SBRT are lacking, largely based on retrospective studies and case reports. The present survey, conducted within the AIRO Oligometastatic Study Group, was developed for radiation oncologists to investigate the current clinical practice in Italy regarding hypofractionated SBRT (defined as a dose/fraction ≥ 5 Gy) in cancer patients using IO and TT.
Methods: The online survey, composed of 19 questions, was developed using the cloud-based platform SurveyMonkey® and was sent to all registered AIRO members using the association's mailing list and was administered online and in anonymous form.
Langmuir
March 2025
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecological Remediation, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518060, China.
Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is a metalloenzyme widely used in various biochemical applications but is susceptible to activity loss and instability under suboptimal conditions. In this study, rhamnolipid (RL) was, for the first time, employed as an additive to enhance the catalytic performance of HRP, including in a dual-enzyme cascade system with glucose oxidase (GOx). We carried out catalytic experiments on phenol degradation and showed that protecting HRP from deactivation is critical in maintaining the high catalytic effect in the dual-enzyme cascade.
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