Scalable three-dimensional elastic construct manufacturing

Abstract

Tissue repair and restoration can be performed using an elastic material formed from tropoelastin. The elastic material can be formed by providing a solution of tropoelastin monomers, applying the solution to a surface, and heating the solution on the surface in absence of a cross-linking agent to enable the tropoelastin monomers to bind to each other to form an elastic material that does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the elastic material is contacted with an aqueous solution.

1 . An elastic material comprising tropoelastin monomers, wherein the tropoelastin monomers are not linked to one another by a linker, and wherein the material does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the material is exposed to physiological conditions. 
     
     
         2 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological conditions comprise a pH between about 7.2 and about 7.5. 
     
     
         3 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological conditions comprise a temperature of between about 36° C. and about 37° C. 
     
     
         4 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological conditions comprise a salt concentration of about 150 mM. 
     
     
         5 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological conditions comprise a pH between about 7.2 and about 7.5, a temperature of between about 36° C. and about 37° C., and a salt concentration of about 150 mM. 
     
     
         6 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the material does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the material is exposed to a pH of about 6.5 to about 8.0, a temperature of from about 30° C. to about 45° C., and a salt concentration of about 75 mM to about 300 mM. 
     
     
         7 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic material is biocompatible. 
     
     
         8 . The elastic material of  claim 1 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers comprise 2 or more individual tropoelastin isoforms. 
     
     
         9 . An elastic material obtainable by a process including:
 applying tropoelastin monomers to a surface; and   heating the tropoelastin monomers on the surface to a temperature to enable the monomers to bind to each other to form a material that does not dissociate back into monomers when the material is exposed to physiological conditions,   wherein the tropoelastin monomers are heated to a temperature of from 60° C. to 200° C., thereby forming the material.   
     
     
         10 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are heated to a temperature that is sufficient to enable the tropoelastin monomers to bind to each other to form an elastic material that does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the elastic material is exposed to physiological conditions. 
     
     
         11 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are heated to a temperature that is sufficient to enable the tropoelastin monomers to bind to each other to form an elastic material that does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the elastic material is contacted with an aqueous solution having a pH of from about 6.5 to 8.0. 
     
     
         12 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are heated to a temperature that is sufficient to enable the tropoelastin monomers to bind to each other to form an elastic material that does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the elastic material is contacted with an aqueous solution having a temperature of from about 30° C. to about 45° C. 
     
     
         13 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are heated to a temperature that is sufficient to enable the tropoelastin monomers to bind to each other to form an elastic material that does not dissociate into tropoelastin monomers when the elastic material is contacted with an aqueous solution having a salt concentration of about 75 mM to about 300 mM. 
     
     
         14 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the surface is heated for heating of the tropoelastin monomers. 
     
     
         15 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers contain hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains of tropoelastin. 
     
     
         16 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers have a sequence that has at least 90% sequence identity with an amino acid sequence of human tropoelastin across at least 50 consecutive amino acids. 
     
     
         17 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are recombinant tropoelastin monomers having an amino acid sequence of a human tropoelastin isoform. 
     
     
         18 . The elastic material of  claim 9 , wherein the tropoelastin monomers are applied to the surface by spraying the tropoelastin monomers onto the surface.