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Brief introduction of keratin and its biological application, especially in drug delivery

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Abstract

Biopolymers have been extensively studied as biomaterials for clinical applications due to the specific advantages, such as ample natural abundance, outstanding biocompatibility and biodegradability, and non-inflammatory and enormous functional groups. Protein-based biomaterials have been used in many biotechnology and biomedicine applications. This article briefly introduces the structure and extraction of filament proteins, keratin, and then focuses on the recent researches on the application of keratin in drug delivery systems. At the same time, it briefly introduces the application of keratin in tissue engineering. Finally, the problems existing in the application of keratin in the above aspects are summarized.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Doctor Research Initiation Fund Project of Lanzhou City College (No. LZCU-BS2019-38)

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  1. Lanzhou City University, College of Chemistry & Environmental Engineering, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Huifang Zhang, **aofang Ma & Guohu Zhao

  2. Lanzhou Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Lanzhou, 730030, People’s Republic of China

    Feng Su

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Zhang, H., Su, F., Ma, X. et al. Brief introduction of keratin and its biological application, especially in drug delivery. emergent mater. 4, 1225–1242 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-021-00216-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-021-00216-3

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