The present disclosure relates to ultrashort peptides capable of forming a gel, to a gel comprising a peptide in accordance with the present disclosure, and to a method of preparing such gel. Such gel is a hydrogel or an organogel. The peptides are suitable bioinks for a bioprinter to build 3D structures through 3D printing as well as other applications.

Hydrogels, bioplastics, and techniques for generating the same are described herein. An example method includes generating a resin including a globular protein, a co-monomer, water, and a photoinitiator. A hydrogel is generated by exposing the resin to light, thereby polymerizing the globular protein and the co-monomer. Further, the example method includes dehydrating the hydrogel by removing at least a portion of the water; and rehydrating the hydrogel in the presence of a hydrogen bonding agent.

Reversibly crosslinkable polymeric networks, including reversibly crosslinkable hydrogel networks are provided. Also provided are methods of making the polymeric networks and methods of using the hydrogel networks in tissue engineering applications. The reversibly crosslinkable polymeric networks are composed of polymer chains that are covalently crosslinked by azobenzene boronic ester bonds that can be reversibly formed and broken by exposing the polymeric networks to different wavelengths of light.

The present invention provides for collagen and collagen like peptide based hydrogels, corneal implants, filler glue and uses thereof. The invention represents an advancement in the field of hydrogels, corneal implants, filler glue based on collagen and collagen like peptides. The invention discloses collagen and novel collagen like peptides crosslinked with DMTMM and their use in preparation of hydrogel, corneal implant and filler glue which are highly efficacious and robust as compared to existing corneal implants. Further, the invention relates to method of treating corneal defects and diseases.

Polypeptide particles of the present invention are particles of a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins, and have an average particle size of 1000 nm or less. A method for producing polypeptide particles of the present invention includes: a solution production step in which the polypeptide is dissolved in at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of DMSO, DMF, and these with an inorganic salt, so as to obtain a solution of the polypeptide; a step in which the solution produced in the solution production step is substituted with a water-soluble solvent so as to obtain an aqueous solution of the polypeptide; and a step in which the aqueous solution of the polypeptide is dried. Thereby, the present invention provides polypeptide particles suitable for application to a living body and capable of being applied to cosmetics, etc., while identifying the properties of the polypeptide particles, and a method for producing the same.

Foam-formed collagen strands and methods for forming strands involve depositing a dispersed solution of an isolated cleaned, de-fatted, enzymatically-treated (or non-enzyme treated) human-derived collagen product having a preserved amount of its natural constituents into grooves of a grooved plate, and processing the dispersed collagen product to provide a foam-formed collagen strand. Foam-formed collagen strands may be processed into threads having a matrix of reticulated pores to conduct biological materials in and through the strand, the collagen of the collagen strand comprising isolated, enzymatically-treated human derived collagen having a preserved amount of its natural collagen constituents.

There is provided a method for preparing a dense hydrogel comprising providing an at least partially gelled hydrogel, placing the at least partially gelled hydrogel in fluid communication with an end of a capillary, and driving the at least partially gelled hydrogel into the capillary to form a dense hydrogel. There is also provided a system for preparing the dense hydrogel comprising a capillary having a bore; and a driver in communication with an end of the capillary for driving an at least partially gelled hydrogel into the bore of the capillary to form a dense hydrogel.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a protein cage which comprises: a 1.sup.st step of preparing an amphiphilic polymer comprising a 1.sup.st hydrophobic polymer and a 1.sup.st hydrophilic functional group; a 2.sup.nd step of preparing a hydrophilic protein comprising a 2.sup.nd functional group binding to the 1.sup.st functional group; a 3.sup.rd step of forming an amphiphilic polymer-protein hybrid by the binding of the 1.sup.st functional group and the 2.sup.nd functional group, and forming core-shell structured particles comprising a protein shell and an amphiphilic polymer core by the self-assembly of the amphiphilic polymer in a hydrophilic solvent; and a fourth step of removing some or all of the hydrophobic polymer of the core part from the core-shell structured particles.

A method for making an article of footwear includes placing a purified recombinant resilin composition in a mold with a cross-linking solution, incubating the recombinant resilin composition in the cross-linking solution to generate a solid resilin material, fabricating a cushioning element of the article of footwear including at least a portion of the solid resilin material, and assembling the cushioning element insole with at least an upper of the article of footwear.

The present invention relates to a manufacturing device for manufacturing a large amount of micro-scaffolds for a long period of time such that stable and uniform particles can be fabricated. The manufacturing device comprises: a first solution storage portion for storing a polymer support structure solution; a second solution storage portion for storing an emulsifier solution; a gas storage portion connected to each of the first solution storage portion and the second solution storage portion; a pressure control portion for controlling the pressure of the transporting gas flowing into the first solution storage portion and the second solution storage portion from the pressurization portion, respectively; a scaffold injector portion for receiving the polymer support structure solution and the emulsifier solution provided by the transporting gas, respectively; and a scaffold generating portion for receiving the scaffold dispersion discharged through the scaffold injection portion.