(163aa) Altering the Mechanical Properties of Protein-Based Polymers

Materials used in scaffold development for tissue engineering show may shortcomings. Among these are site necrosis, structural fatigue and failure, poor biocompatibility, and unacceptable degradation rates (during biosorption). By using protein based polymers, we believe that we can overcome many of these problems. First, we will address how the introduction of photo and chemical crosslinking agents can vary the structural characteristics of these polymers. This will allow for more intelligent material design based on the desired application. Additionally, we will demonstrate the effect of polymerization time, energy, protein concentration, and crosslinker concentration on the structural characteristics of the polymer scaffolds.