Protein-Based Composite Materials: 2nd Edition
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editor
Interests: polymer; biomaterials; biomacromolecules; regenerative medicine; drug delivery; nanotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
A protein composite is a material system with two or more macro/micro/nano constituents of different shapes, properties or chemical compositions, at least one of which is a protein. Typical protein polymers include animal proteins (e.g., silk, keratin, collagen, elastin, resilin, reflectin), plant proteins (e.g., corn zein, soy, wheat gluten), as well as their related protein peptides derived from recombinant biotechnology. Compared to synthetic polymers, proteins have the advantages of being biocompatible, biodegradable, and sustainable with tunable mechanical strength and water solubility. The design of multifunctional and tunable protein-based composite materials is an emerging area of research, with a wide range of applications in the booming biomedical device/green material/biomaterial industry, including tissue regeneration, drug delivery, antibody and vaccine storage, disease models, flexible biosensors, green plastics, biophotonics, and nano-biotechnology.
By optimizing molecular interfaces between different components, protein-based composite materials can be fabricated into a variety of materials, such as particles, fibers, films, gels, or sponges, and encompass a range of functions, such as thermal conductivity at different temperatures, elasticity to support diverse structures, electromagnetic sensitivity in variable sensors, and optical properties for advanced biotechnology.
The aim of this Special Issue is to discuss their design, synthesis, characterization, manufacturing or modeling, as well as their various physical and chemical applications in the biomedical and green industry fields. We cordially invite you to contribute to the themed issue. Both original research and review articles are welcome.
Dr. Xiao Hu
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- protein biopolymer
- composite film, fiber, foam, gel, particle, sensor, and device
- biomacromolecules and functional materials
- polymer composite design and characterization
- protein physical and chemical properties
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