(19)
(11) EP 1 422 242 A8

(12) CORRECTED EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(48) Corrigendum issued on:
11.08.2004 Bulletin 2004/33

(43) Date of publication:
26.05.2004 Bulletin 2004/22

(21) Application number: 03257349.5

(22) Date of filing: 21.11.2003
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7: C07K 14/78, A61K 38/39, A61L 27/22
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LI LU MC NL PT RO SE SI SK TR
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV MK

(30) Priority: 22.11.2002 US 428438 P
29.01.2003 CA 2417634
01.04.2003 JP 2003098691
27.08.2003 AU 2003236491

(71) Applicant: Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Chaikof, Elliot Lorne
    Atlanta, GA 30350 (US)
  • Nagapudi, Karthik
    Woodbridge, NJ 07095 (US)
  • Brinkman, William
    Atlanta, GA 30306 (US)
  • Conticello, Vincent Paul
    Decatur, GA 30033 (US)
  • McMillan, Robert Andrew
    San Francisco, CA 94110 (US)
  • Wright, Elizabeth Rose
    Los Angeles, CA 90012 (US)
  • Payne, Sonha Christine
    Decatur, GA 30033 (US)

(74) Representative: Denness, James Edward et al
Abel & Imray, 20 Red Lion Street
London WC1R 4PQ
London WC1R 4PQ (GB)

   


(54) Plastic and elastic protein copolymers


(57) Synthetic protein copolymers with plastic and elastic properties, and methods producing the copolymers, are provided. For example, a BAB triblock copolymer comprises a hydrophilic block and one or more hydrophobic blocks. The mechanical properties of a gel, fiber, fiber network, or film form of the copolymer are varied by one or more conditions before or after copolymer production. For example, a copolymer sequence can be varied before production, and one or more processing conditions such as solvent, pH, or temperature can be varied after production.