Keratin is widely recognized as a high‐quality renewable protein resource for biomedical applications. Despite their extensive existence, keratin resources such as feathers, wool, and hair exhibit high stability and mechanical properties because of their high disulfide bond content. Consequently, keratin extraction is challenging and its application is greatly hindered. In this work, a biological extraction strategy is proposed for the preparation of bioactive keratin and the fabrication of self‐assembled keratin hydrogels (KHs). Based on moderate and controlled hydrolysis by keratinase, keratin with a high molecular weight of approximately 45 and 28 kDa that retain its intrinsic bioactivities is obtained. The keratin products show excellent ability to promote cell growth and migration and are conferred with significant antioxidant ability because of their intrinsically high cysteine content. In addition, without the presence of any cross‐linking agent, the extracted keratin can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels. The KHs exhibit a porous network structure and 3D culture ability, showing potential in promoting wound healing. This enzyme‐driven keratin extraction strategy opens up a new approach for the preparation of keratin that can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels for biomedical engineering.

中文翻译：

---

用于生物医学应用的生物活性和自组装羊毛角蛋白的酶促提取。

角蛋白被广泛认为是用于生物医学应用的高质量可再生蛋白质资源。尽管它们广泛存在，但羽毛、羊毛和头发等角蛋白资源因其高二硫键含量而表现出高稳定性和机械性能。因此，角蛋白提取具有挑战性，其应用受到很大阻碍。在这项工作中，提出了一种用于制备生物活性角蛋白和制备自组装角蛋白水凝胶（KHs）的生物提取策略。基于角蛋白酶的适度和受控水解，获得了具有约 45 和 28 kDa 的高分子量并保留其内在生物活性的角蛋白。角蛋白产品显示出极好的促进细胞生长和迁移的能力，并且由于其固有的高半胱氨酸含量而具有显着的抗氧化能力。此外，在没有任何交联剂的情况下，提取的角蛋白可以自组装成可注射的水凝胶。KHs 具有多孔网络结构和 3D 培养能力，显示出促进伤口愈合的潜力。这种酶驱动的角蛋白提取策略为角蛋白的制备开辟了一条新途径，角蛋白可以自组装成用于生物医学工程的可注射水凝胶。显示出促进伤口愈合的潜力。这种酶驱动的角蛋白提取策略为角蛋白的制备开辟了一条新途径，角蛋白可以自组装成用于生物医学工程的可注射水凝胶。显示出促进伤口愈合的潜力。这种酶驱动的角蛋白提取策略为角蛋白的制备开辟了一条新途径，角蛋白可以自组装成用于生物医学工程的可注射水凝胶。