Invited Speaker: Protein Polymers and Their Design and Production for Medical Applications

Beginning in 1984, biotechnology methods were developed to produce protein polymers, high molecular weight engineered proteins consisting of specific repeating amino acid sequence blocks modeled on those of natural structural proteins like silk, elastin, collagen, and karatin. High molecular weight engineered structural proteins with compositions and amino acid sequences never before found in nature were then capable of being produced by microbial biosynthesis. The methods and the novel protein compositions were patented(1-12) and Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc. (PPTI), was formed to develop and commercialize the technology. PPTI’s technology platform was applied to the design and production of new biomaterials for uses in diverse medical applications like injectable hydrogels for spinal disc repair, scaffolds for tissue regeneration, adhesives for wound closure, and sealants to improve surgical healing.(4,5,8,9,11,12) These methods are now used by a variety of laboratories and companies around the world to design and produce protein polymers. This presentation will focus on the methodology and rationale used at PPTI to develop and produce protein polymers and our application of these methods to design a protein polymerbased surgical wound sealant.