Abstract: Substantially water-insoluble, crosslinked polypeptides containing 15 to 85 mole % of amino acid residues such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, phosphoserine, phosphohomoserine, phosphotyrosine, phosphothreonine, phosphoasparagine, or phosphoglutamine, and 15 to 85 mole % of amino acid residues such as lysine, arginine, asparagine, glutamine, serine or tyrosine, in which the degree of crosslinking is sufficient to result in a substantially water-insoluble polypeptide with the ability to absorb a 1 wt. % aqueous NaCl solution in an amount of at least 20 times the weight of the polypeptide, are useful as superabsorbents in devices such as diapers, etc. Mild alkaline hydrolysis of the crosslinked polypeptides increases their superabsorbency by two to three fold.

Abstract: Polypeptides of the formulapoly (X).sub.m (Y).sub.n,whereinX is selected from the group consisting of aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, asparagine, mixtures and block polymers thereof,Y is selected from the group consisting of phosphoserine, sulfoserine, phosphohomoserine, phosphotyrosine, phosphothreonine, phosphoglutamine, phosphoasparagine, serine, alanine, dehydroalanine and mixtures thereof,m=5-199 andn=1-10have been demonstrated to inhibit mineral deposition, and can be employed in the inhibition of mineral deposition in both in vitro and in vivo applications. Serine-containing polypeptides can be thermally synthesized by combining the necessary amino acid residues in a reaction vessel, eliminating oxygen to preclude charring, and heating said reaction vessel in a heating medium to a temperature of about 155.degree. C.

Abstract: Substantially water-insoluble, crosslinked polypeptides containing 15 to 85 mole % of amino acid residues such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, phosphoserine, phosphohomoserine, phosphotyrosine, phosphothreonine, phosphoasparagine, or phosphoglutamine, and 15 to 85 mole % of amino acid residues such as lysine, arginine, asparagine, glutamine, serine or tyrosine, in which the degree of crosslinking is sufficient to result in a substantially water-insoluble polypeptide with the ability to absorb a 1% aqueous NaCl solution in an amount of at least 20 times the weight of the polypeptide, are useful as superabsorbents in devices such as diapers, etc.