As the cost and duration of clinical trials continue to increase, a rising emphasis is being placed on improving preclinical testing methods for new drug candidate molecules. Despite its prevalence of use, the current standard preclinical absorption model suffers from multiple limitations, including inaccuracies in predicting paracellular transport as well as poor reproducibility. The goal of this work is to exploit the molecular-level precision of protein-engineered scaffold materials to create an improved in vitro mimic of intestinal tissue, the primary point of absorption for most orally administered drugs.