Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2-2020

Comments

This article is the author’s final published version in Bioengineering, Volume 7, Issue 4, December 2020, Article number 155.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering7040155. Copyright © Fertala

Abstract

Collagens provide the building blocks for diverse tissues and organs. Furthermore, these proteins act as signaling molecules that control cell behavior during organ development, growth, and repair. Their long half-life, mechanical strength, ability to assemble into fibrils and networks, biocompatibility, and abundance from readily available discarded animal tissues make collagens an attractive material in biomedicine, drug and food industries, and cosmetic products. About three decades ago, pioneering experiments led to recombinant human collagens' expression, thereby initiating studies on the potential use of these proteins as substitutes for the animal-derived collagens. Since then, scientists have utilized various systems to produce native-like recombinant collagens and their fragments. They also tested these collagens as materials to repair tissues, deliver drugs, and serve as therapeutics. Although many tests demonstrated that recombinant collagens perform as well as their native counterparts, the recombinant collagen technology has not yet been adopted by the biomedical, pharmaceutical, or food industry. This paper highlights recent technologies to produce and utilize recombinant collagens, and it contemplates their prospects and limitations.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

PubMed ID

33276472

Language

English

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