Fibroin-derived protein composition

摘要

The invention provides a protein composition derived from silk fibroin, which composition possesses enhanced solubility and stability in aqueous solutions. The primary amino acid sequence of native fibroin is modified in the SDP such that cysteine disulfide bonds between the fibroin heavy and fibroin light protein chains are reduced or eliminated. Additionally, the composition can have a serine content that is reduced by greater than 40% compared to native fibroin protein, and the average molecular weight of the SDP is less than about 100 kDa.

主权项

1. A fibroin-derived protein composition that possesses enhanced stability in an aqueous solution, wherein:
the primary amino acid sequences of the fibroin-derived protein composition differ from native fibroin by at least 6% with respect to the combined amino acid content of serine, glycine, and alanine; cysteine disulfide bonds between the fibroin heavy and fibroin light protein chains of fibroin are reduced or eliminated; a plurality of peptide chains in the protein composition terminate in amide (—C(═O)NH2) groups; the composition has a serine content that is reduced by greater than 40% compared to native fibroin protein, wherein the serine content is at least about 5%; and wherein the average molecular weight of the fibroin-derived protein composition is less than about 60 kDa and greater than about 30 kDa.