Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications
Chapter 9: Elastin-like Recombinamers (ELRs) for Biomedical Applications
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Published:07 Jun 2021
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Special Collection: 2021 ebook collection
I. González de Torre, M. González-Pérez, M. Alonso, J. C. Rodríguez-Cabello, 2021. "Elastin-like Recombinamers (ELRs) for Biomedical Applications", Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications, Helena S Azevedo, João F Mano, João Borges
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Elasticity is a key requirement for extensible tissues in vertebrates as they undergo many millions of repetitive stretching–recovery cycles.1 Such tissues include skin, lungs, blood vessels, heart valves and ligaments, amongst others.2 This elasticity is provided by elastic fibers created in a process called elastogenesis,3–5 which mainly occurs during the first few years of life. These elastic fibers comprise elastin, a protein that becomes insoluble due to its high degree of crosslinking, thus making it extremely durable and metabolically stable throughout the host's life.6 Elastin is formed by the union and crosslinking of soluble monomers called...