Issue 26, 2020

Effect of the C-terminal amino acid of the peptide on the structure and mechanical properties of alginate–peptide hydrogels across length-scales

Abstract

Alginate is a natural anionic polysaccharide that exhibits excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Alginate hydrogels have many different applications in the field of regenerative medicine especially when peptides are conjugated to the alginate backbone. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of six arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD)-containing peptides, G6KRGDY/S, A6KRGDY/S and V6KRGDY/S, on the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties and spatial organization of alginate–peptides hydrogels. Using rheology, small angle X-ray scattering and nanoindentation measurements we show a strong correlation between the macroscopic-bulk properties and the microscopic-local properties of the alginate–peptide hydrogels. Furthermore, our results indicate that the identity of the amino acid at the C-terminal of the peptide plays a major role in determining the structure and mechanical properties of the hydrogel across length-scales, where the presence of tyrosine (Y) terminated peptides introduce more junction-zones and consequently larger stiffness than those terminated with serine (S).

Graphical abstract: Effect of the C-terminal amino acid of the peptide on the structure and mechanical properties of alginate–peptide hydrogels across length-scales

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Feb 2020
Accepted
08 Jun 2020
First published
09 Jun 2020

Soft Matter, 2020,16, 6155-6162

Effect of the C-terminal amino acid of the peptide on the structure and mechanical properties of alginate–peptide hydrogels across length-scales

G. Ochbaum, E. Chetrit, R. Berkovich and R. Bitton, Soft Matter, 2020, 16, 6155 DOI: 10.1039/D0SM00329H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements