C0sm00879f 363..368

Fabrication of precisely designed active biomaterials is of great interest in many areas of bionanotechnology including regenerative medicine, drug screening, and biosensors. Microand nanometre scale defined patterns have been developed which can control the spacing and density of signaling molecules through top-down microfabrication approaches, such as photolithography, e-beam lithography, and microcontact printing techniques. Recently developed bottom-up biomaterials such as peptide amphiphiles, and polymers or protein matrices can more closely mimic the nanofibrous network structures of extracellular matrices. Together with the physical structures, additional control of biochemical ligands, signaling density, and dynamic degradation or cross-linking have been considered as critical components to instruct target cells to assume desired tissue morphologies and fates. Recently, our group and others utilized filamentous viral particles as tissue regenerating materials following genetic and chemical modification. Specifically, our group utilized the unique ability of M13 phage to self-replicate, self-assemble and self-evolve to prepare various tissue-like scaffold structures for tissue regeneration. Through the insertion of a desired gene sequence, we could easily display high densities (1.5 10 epitopes per cm) of signaling peptides along the nanofiber-like phage surfaces. Due to the long-rod shape and monodispersity of the phage, we were able to fabricate various twodimensional or three-dimensional self-aligned structures organized from the nanometre scale to the centimetre scale without any nanoor microfabrication processes. The resulting structures can control physical and chemical cues to direct the growth of desired cells, including neural cells, preosteoblasts, fibroblasts and others.