Tunable Hydrogels for Medical Devices and Applications (UD04-62, 07-05, 08-32, 09-02, 09-19)
UD researchers have designed“smart” peptides that undergo sol-gel phase transitions in response to anexternal cue; this allows the direct encapsulation of the therapeutic agentduring hydrogel formation. Peptides can be designed to fold and assemble inresponse to changes in pH or ionic strength, the addition of heat, light andeven standard cell culture media. The material properties (bulk mechanical andnetwork porosity properties) of the gel can be controlled by altering thesequence of the peptide that constitutes the gel; this allows the preparationof gels with properties tailored for a specific application. A uniquecharacteristic of these gels is that with the application of an appropriateshear stress the gel will shear-thin, becoming an injectable or sprayable lowviscosity liquid. Upon release of the shear force the “liquid” quicklyself-heals producing a gel with mechanical rigidity nearly identical to theoriginal hydrogel. Therapeutic-impregnated gels can be delivered to target tissuesvia syringe where they quickly recover adopting the shape of a body cavity,local tissue, or surface. Therapeutic release from the gel can then occur, ordepending on the gel properties engineered into the material, the gel can serveas scaffolding for subsequent cell growth. These hydrogel materials arecytocompatible towards all mammalian cells tested, and current studies suggestthat they will not elicit a proinflammatory response when implantedin-vivo. Fig. Gels resulting from folding and self-assembly of peptides display shear-thinning/recovery properties, allowing them to be delivered by a syringe.
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