Phage Display as a Strategy for Designing Organic/Inorganic Biomaterials

Abstract

To extend and optimize the performance of biomaterials, better control of biofunctionality is needed. In this chapter, we focus on the integration of peptides into biomaterials as a strategy for providing a biomaterial with greater ability to control subsequent protein, cell, and tissue responses. The focus of this chapter is on phage display, a high-throughput selection technique used to identify peptides that have preferential affinity to a specific material or cell type. The use of phage display provides a genetic engineering platform for designing new materials at the nanoscale. The basics of the phage display technique are presented, and postprocessing approaches to analyze the combinatorial data derived from phage display are discussed. Specific examples of the use of phage display with calcium phosphate biomaterials are presented, as are examples from the use of phage display to define amino acid sequences that preferentially bind to specific cell types. Data from multiple phage pannings can be used to create dual-functioning peptides that serve as linkers between the organic and inorganic worlds.