Advances in the design and higher-order assembly of collagen mimetic peptides for regenerative medicine

•Collagen mimetic peptide biomaterials are superior to natural collagen in many ways.•Strategic sequence design allows for reliable higher-order self-assembly.•Varying pH, temperature, and availability of metal ions can trigger self-assembly.•Many collagen biomaterials are cell-adhesive and support differentiation.•Exciting first steps detailed, but more thorough studies need to be performed.

Regenerative medicine makes use of cell-supporting biomaterials to replace lost or damaged tissue. Collagen holds great potential in this regard caused by its biocompatibility and structural versatility. While natural collagen has shown promise for regenerative medicine, collagen mimetic peptides (CMPs) have emerged that allow far higher degrees of customization and ease of preparation. A wide range of two and three-dimensional assemblies have been generated from CMPs, many of which accommodate cellular adhesion and encapsulation, through careful sequence design and the exploitation of electrostatic and hydrophobic forces. But the methodology that has generated the greatest plethora of viable biomaterials is metal-promoted assembly of CMP triple helices-a rapid process that occurs under physiological conditions. Architectures generated in this manner promote cell growth, enable directed attachment of bioactive cargo, and produce living tissue.