Biosynthesis, Assembly, and Biomedical Applications of High-Performance Engineered Proteins

Engineeredstructural proteins, mimicking the structure and functionof well-characterized natural proteins, are of great interest fordiverse applications due to their outstanding mechanical performanceand hierarchical structures. Broad efforts have been devoted to developingnovel toolsets of genetically engineered structural proteins to exploreadvanced protein-based materials. With the rational design and structuraloptimization of artificially structural proteins and the improvedbiosynthetic methods, artificial protein assemblies have demonstratedoutstanding mechanical performance comparable to those of naturalprotein materials, showing promising biomedical applications. In thisReview, we outline recent advances in the fabrication of high-performanceprotein materials, highlighting the roles of biosynthesis, structuralmodification, and assembly in optimizing the materials' properties.The relationship between hierarchical structures and the mechanicalperformance of these recombinant structural proteins is discussedin detail. We emphasize the biomedical applications of high-performancestructural proteins and their assemblies in the fields of high-strengthprotein fibers and adhesives. Finally, we discuss the trends and perspectivesfor the development of structural protein-based materials.