Merging Natural Biopolymers with Supramolecular Chemistry: Emulating the Native Extracellular Matrix's Complexity

abstract

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the most striking natural self-assembled landscapes, essential for tissue integrity and cellular functions, where it orchestrates cell fate through a dynamic interplay of noncovalent interactions. Despite decades of research, there is still no scaffold that can replicate its nanostructural elegance and functional dynamic behavior. In this Perspective, we summarize cutting-edge approaches to reconstruct the ECM, putting an emphasis on either dynamic supramolecular designs or naturally sourced biopolymers. We then propose merging the natural with the synthetic world to enable hybrid cell-instructive materials that combine the dynamic mechanical profile, biomolecular composition and structural features of the ECM at all scales, from the nano- to the mesoscale, aiming to create a fully functional artificial ECM.

keywords

ELASTIN-LIKE POLYPEPTIDES; MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; HYDROGELS SYNTHESIS; RATIONAL DESIGN; CROSS-LINKING; TANNIC-ACID; STEM-CELLS; PROTEIN; CHITOSAN; TISSUE

subject category

Chemistry; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Materials Science

authors

Sousa, V; Ladeira, B; Garanger, E; Lecommandoux, S; Meijer, EW; Dankers, PYW; Mano, JF; Borges, J

Groups

G5 - Biomimetic, Biological and Living Materials

Projects

Unlocking the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the University of Aveiro in supramolecular multicomponent biomaterials for enabling advanced biomaterials for healthcare (SUPRALIFE)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)

Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)

acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement 101079482 ("SUPRALIFE") and by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement ERC-2019-ADG-883370 ("REBORN"). This research was also financially supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for the Gravitation Program (024.005.020). V.S., B.L., and J. B. gratefully acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the individual Ph.D. grants (2020.06771.BD, DOI 10.54499/2020.06771.BD to V.S.; 2022.10626.BD, DOI 10.54499/2022.10626.BD to B.L.), and individual Assistant Researcher contract (2020.00758.CEECIND/CP1589/CT0007, DOI 10.54499/2020.00758.CEECIND/CP1589/CT0007 to J.B.) under the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Individual Call, respectively. This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDB/50011/2020), UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDP/50011/2020), and LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The authors also acknowledge Servier Medical Art (https://smart.servier.com/) for providing image vectors for some items displayed in Figures 1, 2, and 3a, licensed under CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).