Synthetic human elastin microfibers: Stable cross-linked tropoelastin and cell interactive constructs for tissue engineering applications

Elastin is a key extracellular matrix protein in a range of tissues and a viable candidate for elastic tissue engineering. Elastin is not typically incorporated into engineered scaffolds because of lack of access to pure, homogeneous human elastin. Recombinant human tropoelastin, the monomer precursor of elastin, can be chemically cross-linked to form a polymer and used to generate biomaterials with physical properties similar to native elastin. In this study, we use electrospinning to generate versatile tropoelastin microfibers. Tropoelastin retained structural and biological properties, including secondary structure and coacervation temperature, after fiber formation but was solubilized on exposure to an aqueous environment prior to cross-linking. Two cross-linking methods were utilized to generate synthetic elastin microfibers that were stable in aqueous environments. Microfibers stably persisted for up to 180 days at 37 °C. Three primary human cell types derived from elastic tissues were assessed and found to attach and proliferate on both types of microfibers.