Exploration of sea anemone-inspired high-performance biomaterials with enhanced antioxidant activity

Abstract

Antioxidant biomaterials have attracted much attention in various biomedical fields because of their effective inhibition and elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in pathological tissues. However, the difficulty in ensuring biocompatibility, biodegradability and bioavailability of antioxidant materials has limited their further development. Novel bioavailable antioxidant materials that are derived from natural resources are urgently needed. Here, an integrated multi-omics method was applied to fabricate antioxidant biomaterials. A key cysteine-rich thrombospondin-1 type I repeat-like (TSRL) protein was efficiently discovered from among 1262 adhesive components and then used to create a recombinant protein with a yield of 500 mg L −1 . The biocompatible TSRL protein was able to self-assemble into either a water-resistant coating through Ca 2+ -mediated coordination or redox-responsive hydrogels with tunable physical properties. The TSRL-based hydrogels showed stronger 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging rates than glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (Aa) and protected cells against external oxidative stress significantly more effectively. When topically applied to mice skin, TSRL alleviated epidermal hyperplasia and suppressed the degradation of collagen and elastic fibers caused by ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) irradiation, confirming that it enhanced antioxidant activity in vivo . This is the first study to successfully characterize natural antioxidant biomaterials created from marine invertebrate adhesives, and the findings indicate the excellent prospects of these biomaterials for great applications in tissue regeneration and cosmeceuticals.

Exploration of a superior water-resistant protein coating with inherent functionality inspired by scallop byssus

“…(ii) The identi ed EGFL module is frequently present in extracellular matrix (ECM) components, which may endow the resultant materials with inherent functionality. The high cysteine content suggests that the resultant materials may have antioxidant properties 7 . Therefore, we investigated the self-assembly behavior of Sbp9 ∆ and its potential biomedical applications (Fig.…”

“…Recently, protein-based coatings, including mussel foot proteins (mfps), amyloid-like proteins, and collagen have emerged as attractive candidates for developing novel biomaterials in biomedical engineering due to their inherent biocompatibility, biodegradability and functional diversity 6 . Moreover, the mechanical properties of many developed protein-based materials are close to those of soft tissues, indicating that they provide excellent comfort when in contact with damaged tissues 7,8 . Mfps coatings and amyloid-like protein coatings are representative reliable water-resistant protein coatings inspired by innovative underwater sessile organisms, including mussels, barnacles and algae (Table S1) 9,10 .…”

Recent Advances in Bioinspired Hydrogels with Environment‐Responsive Characteristics for Biomedical Applications

“…The cylindrical bodies are attached to the shells of other animals and to rocks on the seafloor by powerful suction cups at the base. This bonding mechanism is related to the strong adhesive secreted by the anemone's pedal discs [62] In a study, Wang et al [63] (Figure 8B) applied multi-omics techniques and genetic engineering to effectively discover and transcribe an antioxidant protein. A key cysteine-rich antioxidant protein (thrombospondin-1 type I repeat-like, TSRL) was filtrated from 1262 adhesive components.…”

“…B) Sea anemone-inspired high-performance biomaterials: a) design of bioinspired antioxidant biomaterials, b) diagram of the TSRL protein-based coating, c) interaction of the TSRL protein and various metal ions, d) structure of the Ca 2+ induced coating, e) a DPPH radical scavenging assay, and f) Live/dead cell staining of coating. Reproduced with permission [63]. Copyright 2021, Elsevier.…”

The Importance of Antioxidant Biomaterials in Human Health and Technological Innovation: A Review

“…Carrageenan films (sulfated polysaccharides from red seaweed), ulvan hydrogels (sulfated polysaccharides from green seaweed), and alginate hydrogels (obtained from brown seaweed) also show numerous bioactive antioxidant properties and promising viscoelastic properties for use in medical applications, food or even as anti-polluting agents [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Like alginate, chitosan polymers (polysaccharides extracted from the exoskeletons of crustaceans) are the matrices most used as biomaterials associated with antioxidants.…”