Peptide-based biopolymers in biomedicine and biotechnology

Peptides are emerging as a new class of biomaterials due to their unique chemical, physical, and biological properties. The development of peptide-based biomaterials is driven by the convergence of protein engineering and macromolecular self-assembly. This review covers the basic principles, applications, and prospects of peptide-based biomaterials. We focus on both chemically synthesized and genetically encoded peptides, including poly-amino acids, elastin-like polypeptides, silk-like polymers, and other biopolymers based on repetitive peptide motifs. Applications of these engineered biomolecules in protein purification, controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, and biosurface engineering are discussed.