Johannes Dresel, MS
University of Delaware
Dynamic Coiled-Coil Peptide Hydrogels as Tunable Scaffolds for Wound Healing
'Bundlemers' are tetrameric, coiled-coil peptide nanoparticles composed of four antiparallel peptide strands. Functionalizing bundlemers with allyloxycarbonyl groups enables their use as physically assembled crosslinkers in polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels via photo-initiated thiol-ene click chemistry.[1] Leveraging the dynamic physical assembly of the bundlemer crosslinkers, the resulting hydrogels can be designed to exhibit shear-thinning and self-healing properties (Storage modulus (G’) ~ 500-6,000 Pa), matching diverse human soft tissue stiffnesses. The stability and chemical tunability of the bundlemer building block can be further used to integrate a range of functionalities with complementary click chemistries to promote wound healing. For initial in vitro evaluation, fibroblasts were incubated with soluble bundlemer nanoparticles for 24 h. The Alamar Blue cell viability assay confirmed high biocompatibility, showing no cytotoxicity across tested concentrations (1–100 micromolar). Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed bundlemer accumulation in or around cells, highlighting drug delivery potential. Combined with their shear-thinning properties, functionalized bundlemer hydrogels offer a versatile matrix with a potential application in chronic wound dressings.
[1] J. E. Meisenhelter et al., Biomacromolecules 2024, 25, 3775-3783.
'Bundlemers' are tetrameric, coiled-coil peptide nanoparticles composed of four antiparallel peptide strands. Functionalizing bundlemers with allyloxycarbonyl groups enables their use as physically assembled crosslinkers in polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels via photo-initiated thiol-ene click chemistry.[1] Leveraging the dynamic physical assembly of the bundlemer crosslinkers, the resulting hydrogels can be designed to exhibit shear-thinning and self-healing properties (Storage modulus (G’) ~ 500-6,000 Pa), matching diverse human soft tissue stiffnesses. The stability and chemical tunability of the bundlemer building block can be further used to integrate a range of functionalities with complementary click chemistries to promote wound healing. For initial in vitro evaluation, fibroblasts were incubated with soluble bundlemer nanoparticles for 24 h. The Alamar Blue cell viability assay confirmed high biocompatibility, showing no cytotoxicity across tested concentrations (1–100 micromolar). Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed bundlemer accumulation in or around cells, highlighting drug delivery potential. Combined with their shear-thinning properties, functionalized bundlemer hydrogels offer a versatile matrix with a potential application in chronic wound dressings.
[1] J. E. Meisenhelter et al., Biomacromolecules 2024, 25, 3775-3783.
