Elastin‐Like Polypeptide Based Nanoparticles: Design Rationale Toward Nanomedicine

Abstract Elastin‐like polypeptides (ELPs) are characterized by a high sequence control, temperature responsiveness and biocompatibility, which make them highly interesting as smart materials for application in nanomedicine. In particular the construction of ELP‐based nanoparticles has recently become a focal point of attention in materials research. This review will give an overview of the ELP‐based nanoparticles that have been developed until now and their underlying design principles. First a short introduction on ELPs and their stimulus‐responsive behavior will be given. This characteristic has been applied for the development of ELP‐based block copolymers that can self‐assemble into nanoparticles. Both the fully ELP‐based as well as several ELP hybrid materials that have been reported to form nanoparticles will be discussed, which is followed by a concise description of the promising biomedical applications reported for this class of materials.