Protein-inorganic Nanohybrids: A Potential Symbiosis in Tissue Engineering

Background: Recently, a great interest has been paid to the development of hybrid protein-inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) for tissue engineering applications to combine the merits of both inorganic and protein nanocarriers. Objective: This short review primarily discusses the most important advances in the application of the hybrids of proteins (gelatin, zein, silk fibroin,... etc) with inorganic NPs (calcium phosphate NPs, cadmium QDs, carbon nanotubes,... etc) in tissue engineering. Results: Various strategies that have been utilized for the preparation of protein-functionalized inorganic NPs are discussed. Nanocomposite films, electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds, nanostructured colloidal composite gels and nanocomposite lyophilized sponges are among the most common platforms of protein-inorganic nanohybrid formulations used in regenerative medicine. Conclusion: protein-inorganic nanohybrids could serve as promising platforms for different biomedical applications including bone and cartilage tissue regeneration, imaging of engineered tissues, development of antithrombogenic implant biomaterials and anti-bacterial wound dressing as well.