Warren, JP orcid.org/0000-0002-0039-5730, Culbert, MP orcid.org/0000-0002-4147-8292, Miles, DE et al. (3 more authors) (2023) Controlling the Self-Assembly and Material Properties of β-Sheet Peptide Hydrogels by Modulating Intermolecular Interactions. Gels, 9 (6). 441. ISSN 2310-2861
Abstract
Self-assembling peptides are a promising biomaterial with potential applications in medical devices and drug delivery. In the right combination of conditions, self-assembling peptides can form self-supporting hydrogels. Here, we describe how balancing attractive and repulsive intermolecular forces is critical for successful hydrogel formation. Electrostatic repulsion is tuned by altering the peptide’s net charge, and intermolecular attractions are controlled through the degree of hydrogen bonding between specific amino acid residues. We find that an overall net peptide charge of +/−2 is optimal to facilitate the assembly of self-supporting hydrogels. If the net peptide charge is too low then dense aggregates form, while a high molecular charge inhibits the formation of larger structures. At a constant charge, altering the terminal amino acids from glutamine to serine decreases the degree of hydrogen bonding within the assembling network. This tunes the viscoelastic properties of the gel, reducing the elastic modulus by two to three orders of magnitude. Finally, hydrogels could be formed from glutamine-rich, highly charged peptides by mixing the peptides in combinations with a resultant net charge of +/−2. These results illustrate how understanding and controlling self-assembly mechanisms through modulating intermolecular interactions can be exploited to derive a range of structures with tuneable properties.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | β-sheet; self-assembly; peptides; hydrogels; rheology |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Physical Chemistry (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mechanical Engineering (Leeds) > Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (iMBE) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 05 Jul 2023 14:43 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jul 2023 14:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/gels9060441 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:200462 |