Self-ordered polymerization of elastin-based biomaterials

Elastic tissues such as the large arteries owe their remarkable properties of extensibility and elastic recoil to elastin, a self-assembling polymeric extracellular matrix protein. Recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of self-assembly of the elastin polymer, and in the development of materials based on elastin are finding application in a variety of uses including the design of novel self-assembling materials and biomaterials.