Abstract
Keratins are naturally derived proteins that can be fabricated into several biomaterials morphologies including films, sponges and hydrogels. As a physical matrix, keratin biomaterials have several advantages of both natural and synthetic materials that are useful in tissue engineering and controlled released applications. Like other naturally derived protein biomaterials, such as collagen, keratin possess amino acid sequences, similar to the ones found on extracellular matrix (ECM), that may interact with integrins showing their ability to support cellular attachment, proliferation and migration. The ability of developing biomaterials that mimic ECM has the potential to control several biological processes and this is the case for keratin which has been used in a variety of biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. This review describes the progress to date towards the use of keratin in the field of wound healing, tissue engineering and drug delivery applications, with highlight to reports of particular relevance to the development of the underlying biomaterials science in this area.
Keywords: Biomaterials, cell proliferation, drug delivery, films, keratin, oxidative extraction, reductive extraction, scaffolds, wound healing.
Current Drug Targets
Title:The Use of Keratin in Biomedical Applications
Volume: 14 Issue: 5
Author(s): Andreia Vasconcelos and Artur Cavaco-Paulo
Affiliation:
Keywords: Biomaterials, cell proliferation, drug delivery, films, keratin, oxidative extraction, reductive extraction, scaffolds, wound healing.
Abstract: Keratins are naturally derived proteins that can be fabricated into several biomaterials morphologies including films, sponges and hydrogels. As a physical matrix, keratin biomaterials have several advantages of both natural and synthetic materials that are useful in tissue engineering and controlled released applications. Like other naturally derived protein biomaterials, such as collagen, keratin possess amino acid sequences, similar to the ones found on extracellular matrix (ECM), that may interact with integrins showing their ability to support cellular attachment, proliferation and migration. The ability of developing biomaterials that mimic ECM has the potential to control several biological processes and this is the case for keratin which has been used in a variety of biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. This review describes the progress to date towards the use of keratin in the field of wound healing, tissue engineering and drug delivery applications, with highlight to reports of particular relevance to the development of the underlying biomaterials science in this area.
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Cite this article as:
Vasconcelos Andreia and Cavaco-Paulo Artur, The Use of Keratin in Biomedical Applications, Current Drug Targets 2013; 14 (5) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389450111314050010
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389450111314050010 |
Print ISSN 1389-4501 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-5592 |
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