'On/off' switches for self-assembling hydrogels could advance wound healing and more
Published 2021-06-23 · Original archive entry · Explore research explainers
BROOKLYN, New York, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 -- Owing to their tunable properties, hydrogels comprising stimuli-sensitive polymers are among the most appealing molecular scaffolds because their versatility allows for applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery and other biomedical fields.
Peptides and proteins are increasingly popular as building blocks because they can be stimulated to self-assemble into nanostructures such as nanoparticles or nanofibers, which enables gelation -- the formation of supramolecular hydrogels that can trap water and small molecules. Engineers, to generate such smart biomaterials, are developing systems that can respond to a multitude of stimuli including heat. Although thermosensitive hydrogels are among widely studied and well-understood class of protein biomaterials, substantial progress is also reportedly being made in incorporating stimuli-responsiveness including pH, light, ionic strength, redox, as well as the addition of small molecules.
A team of researchers at the END
Peptides and proteins are increasingly popular as building blocks because they can be stimulated to self-assemble into nanostructures such as nanoparticles or nanofibers, which enables gelation -- the formation of supramolecular hydrogels that can trap water and small molecules. Engineers, to generate such smart biomaterials, are developing systems that can respond to a multitude of stimuli including heat. Although thermosensitive hydrogels are among widely studied and well-understood class of protein biomaterials, substantial progress is also reportedly being made in incorporating stimuli-responsiveness including pH, light, ionic strength, redox, as well as the addition of small molecules.
A team of researchers at the END