Recombinant protein blends: silk beyond natural design

Single Honeybee Silk Protein Mimics Properties of Multi-Protein Silk

Honeybee silk is composed of four fibrous proteins that, unlike other silks, are readily synthesized at full-length and high yield. The four silk genes have been conserved for over 150 million years in all investigated bee, ant and hornet species, implying a distinct functional role for each protein. However, the amino acid composition and molecular architecture of the proteins are similar, sug...

Natural biomaterial silk and silk proteins: Applications in tissue repair

Silk is a natural polymer synthesized and secreted by specialized silk gland of the silk worm. Silk is evolved as an ideal biomaterial can provide functional insight into relationships between polymer science and molecular biology. Silk proteins can be recovered from the silk during the processing chain of textile manufacture. The important characteristic of silk, especially the biocompatibilit...

Strategies for Functionalization of Recombinant Spider Silk

The use of silk-based materials for medical and biotechnological applications has been investigated for many years, with particular progress the last fifteen years. Extensive research has been conducted on silk derived from the silkworm Bombyx mori, but lately the evolvement in recombinant production has made mimics of spider silk proteins increasingly available. Revealed characteristics of sil...

Recombinant DNA production of spider silk proteins

Spider dragline silk is considered to be the toughest biopolymer on Earth due to an extraordinary combination of strength and elasticity. Moreover, silks are biocompatible and biodegradable protein-based materials. Recent advances in genetic engineering make it possible to produce recombinant silks in heterologous hosts, opening up opportunities for large-scale production of recombinant silks f...

Improved Function and Maturation of Dendritic Cells Stimulated by Recombinant pp65 Protein: In vitro Design