Inventors:
Soebianto A. Sojomihardjo - West Covina CA
Neil P. Desai - Los Angeles CA
Paul A. Sandford - Los Angeles CA
Patrick Soon-Shiong - Los Angeles CA
Shubhi Nagrani - Torrance CA
Assignee:
American Bioscience, Inc. - Santa Monica CA
International Classification:
A61K 4742
US Classification:
424 851, 424 852, 424 854, 424 943, 4241781, 424425, 424486, 424487, 435180, 435182, 514 2, 514 3, 514 6, 514 8, 514 12, 514 21, 525 541, 530345, 530410, 530815, 530817
Abstract:
In accordance with the present invention, there are provided rapidly crosslinkable polypeptides which are obtained upon introduction of unsaturated group(s) into the polypeptide via linkage to amino acid residues on the polypeptide directly through one of three types of linkages, namely, an amide linkage, an ester linkage, or a thioester linkage. Each of these linkages are obtainable in a single step by use of a single derivatizing agent, acrylic anhydride. Also provided are methods for preparing such modified polypeptides and various uses therefor. It has unexpectedly been found that proteins with the above-described chemical modifications have the ability to rapidly crosslink to themselves under suitable conditions. This crosslinking occurs in the absence of any external crosslinking agents (indeed, in the absence of any extraneous agents), resulting in the formation of a solid gel material. Solid crosslinked gels are formed in seconds, starting from a freely flowing solution of polypeptide.