Potential and Properties of Plant Proteins for Tissue Engineering Applications

Fibers produced from plant proteins such as zein, soyprotein and wheat gluten, glutenin and gliadin have good mechanical properties, excellent water stability and biocompatibility that make them suitable for tissue engineering and other medical applications. Although animal proteins such as collagen are used for medical applications, materials developed from collagen do not have the properties desired for tissue engineering applications. Materials developed from collagen have poor wet strength and also have the risk of carrying diseases. The plant protein fibers developed in our laboratory have better water stability than PLA and collagen fibers in water and films developed from wheat gluten, gliadin and glutenin without using any crosslinking agents have strength, water stability and biocompatibility required for medical applications. The plant protein fibers developed were characterized for their morphological and physical structures, mechanical properties and stability under various physiological conditions. Different types of animal cells were cultured on the fibers and the cytocompatibility and attachment, growth and proliferation of cells on the fibers was studied. It was found that plant proteins fibers supported the attachment, growth and proliferation of animal cells and the fibers were stable in pH 7.2 water for at least 30 days. Some of the plant proteins show better cell attachment and proliferation than PLA. In this paper, we will present the properties and potential of using various plant protein fibers for tissue engineering and other medical applications.