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1. Materials composed of the D rosophila Hox protein Ultrabithorax are biocompatible and nonimmunogenic: UBX Materials are Biocompatible and Non-Immunogenic

   https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.35295  

   Patterson, Jan L.; Arenas-Gamboa, Angela M.; Wang, Ting-Yi; Hsiao, Hao-Ching; Howell, David W.; Pellois, Jean-Philippe; Rice-Ficht, Allison; Bondos, Sarah E. (April 2015, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A)
2. Identification of Multiple Dityrosine Bonds in Materials Composed of the Drosophila Protein Ultrabithorax

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201502852  

   Howell, David W.; Tsai, Shang-Pu; Churion, Kelly; Patterson, Jan; Abbey, Colette; Atkinson, Joshua T.; Porterpan, Dustin; You, Yil-Hwan; Meissner, Kenith E.; Bayless, Kayla J.; et al (October 2015, Advanced Functional Materials)
3. Antibacterial and Cytocompatible pH-Responsive Peptide Hydrogel

   https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28114390  

   Edirisinghe, Dona Imanga; D’Souza, Areetha; Ramezani, Maryam; Carroll, Robert J.; Chicón, Quenten; Muenzel, Cheyene L.; Soule, Jonathan; Monroe, Mary Beth; Patteson, Alison E.; Makhlynets, Olga V. (June 2023, Molecules)

   A short peptide, FHHF-11, was designed to change stiffness as a function of pH due to changing degree of protonation of histidines. As pH changes in the physiologically relevant range, G′ was measured at 0 Pa (pH 6) and 50,000 Pa (pH 8). This peptide-based hydrogel is antimicrobial and cytocompatible with skin cells (fibroblasts). It was demonstrated that the incorporation of unnatural AzAla tryptophan analog residue improves the antimicrobial properties of the hydrogel. The material developed can have a practical application and be a paradigm shift in the approach to wound treatment, and it will improve healing outcomes for millions of patients each year. 

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4. Protein‐Engineered Functional Materials

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201801374  

   Wang, Yao; Katyal, Priya; Montclare, Jin_Kim (April 2019, Advanced Healthcare Materials)

   Abstract Proteins are versatile macromolecules that can perform a variety of functions. In the past three decades, they have been commonly used as building blocks to generate a range of biomaterials. Owing to their flexibility, proteins can either be used alone or in combination with other functional molecules. Advances in synthetic and chemical biology have enabled new protein fusions as well as the integration of new functional groups leading to biomaterials with emergent properties. This review discusses protein‐engineered materials from the perspectives of domain‐based designs as well as physical and chemical approaches for crosslinked materials, with special emphasis on the creation of hydrogels. Engineered proteins that organize or template metal ions, bear noncanonical amino acids (NCAAs), and their potential applications, are also reviewed. 

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5. Drosophila germ granules are assembled from protein components through different modes of competing interactions with the multi‐domain Tudor protein

   https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14846  

   Wahiduzzaman; Tindell, Samuel_J; Alexander, Emma; Hackney, Ethan; Kharel, Kabita; Schmidtke, Ryan; Arkov, Alexey_L (March 2024, FEBS Letters)

   Membraneless organelles are RNA–protein assemblies which have been implicated in post‐transcriptional control. Germ cells form membraneless organelles referred to as germ granules, which contain conserved proteins including Tudor domain‐containing scaffold polypeptides and their partner proteins that interact with Tudor domains. Here, we show that inDrosophila, different germ granule proteins associate with the multi‐domain Tudor protein using different numbers of Tudor domains. Furthermore, these proteins compete for interaction with Tudorin vitroand, surprisingly, partition to distinct and poorly overlapping clusters in germ granulesin vivo. This partition results in minimization of the competition. Our data suggest that Tudor forms structurally different configurations with different partner proteins which dictate different biophysical properties and phase separation parameters within the same granule. 

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