Today, the connection between biomaterials science and nanotechnology has made possible the design of new advanced materials based in natural systems. The elastin-like polymers (ELPs) are a new family of protein polymers obtained by recombinant DNA technologies. They are based on the recurrence of certain short peptides that are present in the natural elastin protein. This polymer family shows extraordinary features: biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical properties similar to those of the natural elastin, acute "smart" nature and self-assembly behaviour. The specific composition of these polymers defines their main feature called Inverse Temperature Transition (ITT) that occurs in aqueous medium and in which can be regulated by the pH, temperature, salt's concentration&
The design of different amphiphilic ELPs allows obtaining spontaneous nanometric 3D structures by variation of pH and temperature in aqueous systems, such as micelles and nanovesicles. Those self-assembled structures are highly relevant for the use of these polymers in advanced biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering and controlled drug release. For example the spontaneous formation of stable, nano- and microparticles by poly (VPAVG) as vehicles for the controlled release of the model drug dexamethasone phosphate (DMP) have been reported. Additionally, it is possible to obtain in this manner 2D structures, such as polymer sheets showing self-assembled nanopores, with the hydrophobic surrounding of the charged domains.
The Spanish research group aims to the procurement of self-assembled nanostructured systems with a superior quality and robustness. In this sense we are exploiting three fundamental facts:
First, the extraordinary self-assembling capacities recently shown by a new polymer family, the elastin-like polymers. Those are inspired in the natural elastin and retain the extraordinary capacity of this natural protein for self-assembling into fibrilar structures via hydrophobic association through the side chains of its amino acids. In addition, they show and cute smart behaviour that leads to a self-assembly process driven by a given command signal (?T, ?pH, etc.).
Second, the group intends to exploit the abundant wealth of knowledge gathered during these last two decades on the self-assembling capabilities of di and tri-block co-polymers. Those have shown a great capacity to obtain diverse self-assembled nanopatterns and other nanostructures such as nanotubes and nanovesicles.
Third, the group is making use of a pioneer methodology in the production of protein-based polymers, genetic engineering. The designed polymers will be produced as recombinant proteins in genetically modified micro-organisms. The precision and sophistication of the cellular biosynthesis systems will be used to obtain, through a robust, environmentally clean and easily scalable methodology, di-block and tri-block copolymers with a molecular architecture much more complex and functional than that possible in synthetic polymers, and obtained with an unprecedented degree of control by which the different functionalities are placed along the polymer chain with nanometric precision and absolute reproducibility.

Innovative Aspects:
It is expected that this new strategy will give rise to the obtaining of systems with exceptional self-assembling properties (highly better than those described nowadays which are obtained from conventional polymers).

 

Patents/Rights: Patent(s) applied for but not yet granted

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