Research

Overview

Bioadhesives/Sealants

Elastin-based Biomaterials

Conductive Hydrogels

Drug/Protien/Gene Delivery

Microfabrication

Elastin-based Biomaterials

Elastic fibers play a critical role in maintaining the functionality of tissues such as blood vessels, skin, lungs, and the heart, where both strength and flexibility are essential for processes like stretching and contraction. The Annabi lab actively synthesizes various elastin-based materials to replicate these elastic tissue structures. The two most commonly used materials are methacrylated tropoelastin (MeTro) or custom-designed elastin-like polypeptides (ELP). The remarkable elasticity of tropoelastin stems from its distinctive structure, which consists of alternating regions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains, along with lysine residues that facilitate precise molecular alignment. Building on this natural design, ELPs have been developed as synthetic analogs of elastin. These biomimetic polymers replicate the mechanical properties of elastin and can be customized for various applications, making them ideal for creating tissues that demand elasticity and dynamic performance. By introducing methacrylic groups onto tropoelastin and ELP, chemically modified derivatives such as MeTro and methacrylated ELP (mELP) are produced. These modifications allow the materials to undergo photocrosslinking, enabling the formation of stable hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. The resulting biomaterials retain the inherent elasticity and biocompatibility of their native counterparts while offering enhanced versatility for tissue engineering applications. We combined these elastic biomaterials with various microscale technologies to engineer elastic biomaterials for wide range of tissue engineering applications as well as sealants for surgical applications.

Lab Members Working on this field: Saumya Jain, Tess De Maeseneer, Ronak Afshari, Gayatri Patel

Related Articles:

1. Jharana Dhal, Mahsa Ghovvati, Avijit Baidya, Ronak Afshari, Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr, Reza Abdi, Nasim Annabi. A stretchable, electroconductive tissue adhesive for the treatment of neural injury.  Bioengineering & Translational Medicine 2024.  A stretchable, electroconductive tissue adhesive for the treatment of neural injury – Dhal – 2024 – Bioengineering & Translational Medicine – Wiley Online Library
2. Gokberk Unal, Jesse Jones, Sevana Baghdasarian, Naoki Kaneko, Ehsan Shirzaei Sani, Sohyung Lee, Shima Gholizadeh, Satoshi Tateshima, Nasim Annabi. Engineering elastic sealants based on gelatin and elastin‐like polypeptides for endovascular anastomosis. Bioengineering & translational medicine 2021. Engineering elastic sealants based on gelatin and elastin‐like polypeptides for endovascular anastomosis
3. Ehsan Shirzaei Sani, Roberto Portillo-Lara, Andrew Spencer, Wendy Yu, Benjamin M Geilich, Iman Noshadi, Thomas J Webster, Nasim Annabi. Engineering adhesive and antimicrobial hyaluronic acid/elastin-like polypeptide hybrid hydrogels for tissue engineering applications. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2018. Engineering Adhesive and Antimicrobial Hyaluronic Acid/Elastin-like Polypeptide Hybrid Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications | ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
4. Jonathan R Soucy, Ehsan Shirzaei Sani, Roberto Portillo Lara, David Diaz, Felipe Dias, Anthony S Weiss, Abigail N Koppes, Ryan A Koppes, Nasim Annabi. Photocrosslinkable gelatin/tropoelastin hydrogel adhesives for peripheral nerve repair. Tissue Engineering Part A 2018. Photocrosslinkable Gelatin/Tropoelastin Hydrogel Adhesives for Peripheral Nerve Repair | Tissue Engineering Part A
5. N. Annabi*, D. Rana, E. Shirzaei Sani, R. Portillo-Lara, J. L. Gifford, M. M. Fares, S.M. Mithieux, A. S. Weiss. Engineering a sprayable and elastic hydrogel adhesive with antimicrobial properties for wound healing. Biomaterials 2017. Engineering a sprayable and elastic hydrogel adhesive with antimicrobial properties for wound healing – ScienceDirect