Abstract
Nature has demonstrated that proteins can be designed using common elements and repeated strategies to give rise to a set of diverse properties that are unique among materials. These properties enable proteins to perform the mechanical and biological functions that are essential to all living systems. We are striving to exploit the utility and versatility displayed by natural proteins to expand the potential applications for protein-based materials. Our ultimate goal is to create new materials from highmolecular-weight structural proteins, using the 20 natural amino acids in any sequence design of our choice to yield materials with properties not attained by natural proteins. We may accomplish this goal either by building from a natural protein design, optimizing the design for a set of specific functions, or by designing new materials with unique functions. While nature serves as the model for these new protein-based materials, our challenge is to design proteins having properties that exceed those found in nature or that overcome the limitations of natural proteins.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Beavis RC, Chait BT, Creel HS, Fournier MJ, Mason TL, Tirrell DA (1992): Analysis of symthetic proteins by matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry. Proc Am Chem Soc PMSE 66:27
Cappello J, Ferrari FA (1994) Microbial production of structural protein polymers. In: Plastics from Microbes, Mobley DP, ed. Munich Vienna New York: Carl Hanser Verlag
Cappello J, Crissman JW (1990): The design and production of bioactive protein polymers for biomedical applications. Polymer Preprints 31:193–194
Cappello J, Crissman JW, Dorman M, Mikolajczak M, Textor G, Marquet M, Ferrari F (1990): Genetic engineering of structural protein polymers. Biotechnol Prog 6:198–202
Cappello J, Ferrari FA, Buerkle TL, Textor G (1993): Purification of structurally ordered recombinant protein polymers. US patent 5235041
Carlson M, Brutlag D (1977): Cloning and characterization of a complex satellite DNA from Drosophila melanogaster. Cell 11:371–381
Creel HS, Fournier MJ, Mason TL, Tirrell DA (1991): Macromolecules 24:1213–1214.
De Boer HA, Comstock LJ, Vasser M (1983): The tac promoter: a functional hybrid derived from trp and lac promoters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80:21–25
De Boer HA, Comstock LJ, Hui A, Wong E, Vasser M (1984): A hybrid promoter and portable Shine-Delgarno regions of Escherichia coli. Biochem Soc Symp 48:233–244
Doel MT, Eaton M, Cook EA, Lewis H, Patel T, Carey NH (1980): The expression in E. coli of synthetic repeating polymeric genes coding for poly (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine). Nucleic Acids Res 8:4575–4592
Ensley B (1986): Stability of recombinant plasmids in industrial microorganisms. Crit Rev Biotechnol 4:263–278
Ferrari FA, Richardson C, Chambers J, Causey J, Pollock SC, Cappello J, Crissman JW (1993): Construction of synthetic DNA and its use in large polypeptide synthesis. US Patent 5243038
Fiestchko J, Ritch T (1986): Production of human alpha consensus interferon in recombinant Escherichia coli. Chem Eng Commun 45:229–240
Goldberg I, Salerno AJ, Patterson T, Williams JI (1989): Cloning and expression of a collagen-analog-encoding synthetic gene in Escherichia coli. Gene 80:305–314
Gupta SC, Weith HL, Somerville RL (1983): Biological limitations on the length of highly repetitive DNA sequences that may be stably maintained within plasmid replicons in Escherichia coli. Biotechnology 1:602–609
Hugli TE, ed. (1989) Techniques in Protein Chemistry. San Diego: Academic Press
Imanaka TZ (1986): Application of recombinant DNA technology to the production of useful biomaterials. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol 33:1–27
Lohe RA, Brutlag DL (1983): Multiplicity of satellite DNA sequences in Drosophila melanogastic. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:696–700
Masilamani D, Goldberg I, Salerno AJ, Oleksiuk MA, Unger PD, Piascik DA, Bhattacharjee HR (1991): In: Biotechnology and Polymers, Gebelein CO, ed. New York: Plenum Press
McGrath KP, Fournier MJ, Mason TL, Tirrell DA (1992): Genetically directed syntheses of new polymeric materials. Expression of artificial genes encoding proteins with repeating (AlaGlY)3ProGluGly elements. J Am Chem Soc 114:727–733
Sadler JR, Tacklenburg M, Betz JL (1980): Plasmids containing many tandem copies of a synthetic lactose operator. Gene 8:279–300
Salerno AJ, Goldberg I (1992): Keystone Symposium on Tissue Engineering, Keystone, CO (unpublished)
Sassenfeld HM (1990): Engineering proteins for purification. Trends in Biotech 8:88–93
Seo JH, Bailey JE (1986): Continuous cultivation of recombinant E. coli: Existance of an optimum dilution rate for maximum plasmid and gene product concentration. Biotechnol Bioeng 28:1590–1594
Simmons CR, Rodriguez RL (1989): In: Biocatalysis in Agricultural Biotechnology, Whitaker JR, Sonnet PE, eds. Washington DC: American Chemical Society
Strausberg RL, Anderson DM, Filpula D, Finkelman M, Link R, McCandliss R, Orndorff SA, Strausberg SL, Wei T (1989): In: Adhesion from Renewable Resources, Hemingway RW, Conners AH, Branham SJ, eds. Washington DC: American Chemical Society
Tirrell DA, Fournier MJ, Mason TL (1991): Genetic Engineering of polymeric materials. MRS Bulletin July:23–28
Urry DW, Parker TM, Minehan DS, Nicol A, Pattanaik A, Peng SQ, Morrow C, McPherson DT (1992): Capacity to vary the bioactive role of elastic proteinbased materials. Proc Arner Chern Soc PMSE 66:399–402
Wang Y-C, Klein TM, Fromm M, Cao J, Sanford JC, Wu R (1988): Transient expression of foreign genes in rice wheat and soybean cells following particle bombardment. Plant Mol Biol 11:433–440
Wells JA, Powers DB, Bott RR, Katz BA, Ultsch MH, Kossiakoff AA, Power SD, Adams RM, Heyneker HH, Cunningham BC, Miller JV, Graycar TP, Estell DA (1987): Protein engineering of subtilisin. In: Protein Engineering, Oxender DL, Fox CF, eds. New York:Alan R. Liss, Inc
Zukowski MM (1992): Production of commercially valuable products. In: Biology of Bacilli: Applications to Industry, Doy RH, MeGloughlin M, eds. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Birkhäuser Boston
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ferrari, F.A., Cappello, J. (1997). Biosynthesis of Protein Polymers. In: McGrath, K., Kaplan, D. (eds) Protein-Based Materials. Bioengineering of Materials. Birkhäuser Boston. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4094-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4094-5_2
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser Boston
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8649-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4094-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive