Resilin-mimetic Polypeptides and Elastomeric Modular Protein Polymers: Amino Acid Sequence, Conformational Ensemble, and Stimuli Responsiveness

Native resilin is an insect elastic protein known for its outstanding resilience. Resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) are genetically engineered biopolymers derived from the consensus sequence of native resilin. RLPs exhibit molecular structure analogous to intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) along with multi-stimuli (including pH, temperature, ion, and other macromolecules) responsiveness and tunable physicochemical properties, which has dramatically changed the structure–function paradigm of proteins over the last two decades. Advances in protein engineering have also led to increasingly available RLP-based modular protein polymers, expanding their potential in diverse biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering, biosensors, and drug delivery. In this chapter, we discuss the amino acid sequence, composition, molecular structure, stimuli-responsive behavior, inter-/intra-molecular interactions, and self-assembly of RLPs and RLP-based modular protein polymers, which will provide fundamental knowledge and an understanding of rational design, development, characterization, and applications of resilin-based smart biomaterials.