Protein-based Biomaterials: Reaching to the Future by Learning from the Past

Materials have always played a critical role in society, with applications ranging from biomedical to textile to environmental. While many of the materials in use today are synthetically derived, most have roots in or have been inspired by the natural world.  Protein-based biomaterials have been of interest for many years, but there has been an increased emphasis placed on the development of these critically important materials as we have come to better understand the impacts synthetic materials have on the environment and our bodies. Improvements in scientific discovery have allowed for further development of these technologies by making it possible to better understand proteins’ structures and functionality. These developments are providing researchers opportunities to create new, nature-inspired, protein-based biomaterials to help usher in a brighter future in the materials industry.

For this Special Issue, we invite critical reviews and novel research in the field of protein-based biomaterials. We particularly invite contributions related to the study of filament proteins, proteins studied for use as biomaterials, protein material formulations intended to reduce environmental impact, and the discovery of novel proteins that could lead to interesting and useful biomaterials. We look forward to seeing the important research that is being conducted in the field of protein-based materials! 

Dr. Richard Decker
Dr. Justin A. Jones
Guest Editors

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• Protein-based biomaterials 
• Silk proteins 
• Nature-inspired biomaterials 
• Fibers 
• Adhesives 
• Hydrogels