Abstract
Protein/peptide-based hydrogel biomaterial inks with the ability to incorporate various cells and mimic the extracellular matrix’s function are promising candidates for 3D printing and biomaterials engineering. This is because proteins contain multiple functional groups as reactive sites for enzymatic, chemical modification or physical gelation or cross-linking, which is essential for the filament formation and printing processes in general. The primary mechanism in the protein gelation process is the unfolding of its native structure and its aggregation into a gel network. This network is then stabilized through both noncovalent and covalent cross-link. Diverse proteins and polypeptides can be obtained from humans, animals, or plants or can be synthetically engineered. In this review, we describe the major proteins that have been used for 3D printing, highlight their physicochemical properties in relation to 3D printing and their various tissue engineering application are discussed.
Highlights
Natural proteins such as collagen, gelatin, keratin, and silk are commonly used as biomaterials. These natural proteins in comparison to synthetic proteins and peptides, have lower immunogenicity, a higher degradability, and enhanced biocompatibility [1,2]. These properties of proteins highlight their possible use as a biomaterial in 3D printing, which may be indicative of the potential benefits of its utilization in the formation of hierarchical tissue constructs [3,4]
The results showed that blending mulberry and non-mulberry silk fibroin would help to form stable and optimally sized hepatocyte clusters (
Advanced protein-based inks have enabled scientists to extend the range of protein application possibilities in tissue engineering via 3D printing technologies
Summary
Bioengineering 2021, 8, Protein-based materials are abundant, inexpensive, biocompatible, and biodegradable and have been used in numerous applications such as textile, food, cosmetic industry, and biomedical field such as 3D printing of biomaterials. Natural proteins such as collagen, gelatin, keratin, and silk are commonly used as biomaterials. These natural proteins in comparison to synthetic proteins and peptides, have lower immunogenicity, a higher degradability, and enhanced biocompatibility [1,2].
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