New Biomaterials

A new source of biomaterial has been unveiled in drosophila. The ultrabithorax protein, which is expressed in wing development and thoracic segmentation, has self-assembling properties. The strands that the self-assembling proteins produce and are intertwined with other proteins and have properties of the new proteins. The ultrabithorax seem to innately have properties that mimic natural elastin. Sarah Bondos has done experiments with this strands to promote angiogenesis.

This discovery is exciting because the possibilities are endless. Ultrabithorax has a high affinity for several proteins. However, there are limitations in the types of proteins that it can interact with if they are too large then ultrabithorax cannot self-assembly. The charge of the proteins may also play into their abilities to interact.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/doi/10.1002/adfm.201100067/pdf