Search

Health care and medicine were revolutionized in recent years by the development of biomaterials, such as stents, implants, personalized drug delivery systems, engineered grafts, cell sheets, and other transplantable materials. These materials not only support the growth of cells before transplantation but also serve as replacements for damaged tissues in vivo. Among the various biomaterials available, those made from natural biological sources such as extracellular proteins (collagen, fibronectin, laminin) have shown significant benefits, and thus are widely used. However, routine biomaterial-based research requires copious quantities of proteins and the use of pure and intact extracellular proteins could be highly cost ineffective. Gelatin is a molecular derivative of collagen obtained through the irreversible denaturation of collagen proteins. Gelatin shares a very close molecular structure and function with collagen and thus is often used in cell and tissue culture to replace collagen for biomaterial purposes. Recent technological advancements such as additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, and three-dimensional printing, in general, have resulted in great strides toward the generation of functional gelatin-based materials for medical purposes. In this review, the structural and molecular similarities of gelatin to other extracellular matrix proteins are compared and analyzed. Current strategies for gelatin crosslinking and production are described and recent applications of gelatin-based biomaterials in cell culture and tissue regeneration are discussed. Finally, recent improvements in gelatin-based biomaterials for medical applications and future directions are elaborated. Impact statement In this study, we described gelatin's biochemical properties and compared its advantages and drawbacks over other extracellular matrix proteins and polymers used for biomaterial application. We also described how gelatin can be used with other polymers in creating gelatin composite materials that have enhanced mechanical properties, increased biocompatibility, and boosted bioactivity, maximizing its benefits for biomedical purposes. The article is relevant, as it discussed not only the chemistry of gelatin, but also listed the current techniques in gelatin/biomaterial manufacturing and described the most recent trends in gelatin-based biomaterials for biomedical applications.

Under Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), autoantibody-type VII collagen complex can induce autoimmune reaction and continue with the inflammation. Here, we introduced synthetic 19 amino acid sequenced peptide termed as NIPEP-IM-0127 that inhibits autoantibody-type VII collagen complex formation. The NIPEP-IM-0127 was further formulated for oral administration. Primary function of NIPEP-IM-0127 selectively localizes to wound gut barrier and masks exposed type VII collagen, which is the starting of autoimmune reaction. Disrupted type VII collagen by the disease was bound to the applied peptide, which interfere autoimmune complex formation by competitive binding inhibition between antibody and peptide. NIPEP-IM-0127 thus recovered inflammatory cytokine level by the inhibition of immune complex creation. The orally applied NIPEP-IM-0127 peptide was primarily detected at the surface of colon tissue after 9 hours of administration, while no distributions were shown in other organs. Most importantly, significant mucosal regeneration and healing has been achieved by NIPEP-IM-0127. The following GLP toxicity studies, including safety pharmacology, genotoxicity, single and repeated dose toxicity, demonstrated that NIPEP-IM-0127 showed no significant toxic effect in in mouse and monkey. Taken together, the NIPEP-IM-0127 is suggested to be a novel therapeutic candidate for IBD treatment by the dual effects combining immune modulation and intestine barrier healing.