Business and industry articles within Polymer Journal

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• Invited Review | 20 August 2014

  Self-organized nanotube materials and their application in bioengineering

  Self-assembled organic nanotubes (S-ONTs) from rationally designed synthetic amphiphiles provide a variety of inner and outer surfaces as well as homogeneous hollow cylinders with precisely controlled inner diameters. Focusing on distinctive characteristics of the nanospace or nanochannel, we review the recent progress in the research on encapsulation, transportation, stabilization and release behavior of biomacromolecules in the S-ONT nanochannels in terms of application to a bioengineering field.

  • Toshimi Shimizu
  • , Hiroyuki Minamikawa
  •  & Mitsutoshi Masuda

• Focus Review | 02 July 2014

  Recombinant elastomeric protein biopolymers: progress and prospects

  Genetically engineered protein biopolymers belong to a new family of polymers that have recently attracted interest due to their highly modifiable material properties. It is now possible to use a bottom-up engineering process to design advanced, smart materials for biomedical and engineering applications, such as energy storage and bioremediation. This review explores recent developments in these genetically engineered protein biopolymers, with a particular emphasis on elastomeric biopolymers (elastin, silk, resilin and titin). Also discussed are the future directions that this field will likely explore.

  • Monica S Tjin
  • , Pearlie Low
  •  & Eileen Fong