bm200763y_si_001.pdf (6.05 MB)
Directed Intermixing in Multicomponent Self-Assembling Biomaterials
journal contribution
posted on 2011-10-10, 00:00 authored by Joshua
Z. Gasiorowski, Joel H. CollierThe noncovalent coassembly of multiple different peptides
can be a useful route for producing multifunctional biomaterials.
However, to date, such materials have almost exclusively been investigated
as homogeneous self-assemblies, having functional components uniformly
distributed throughout their supramolecular structures. Here we illustrate
control over the intermixing of multiple different self-assembling
peptides, in turn providing a simple but powerful means for modulating
these materials’ mechanical and biological properties. In β-sheet
fibrillizing hydrogels, significant increases in stiffening could
be achieved using heterobifunctional cross-linkers by sequestering
peptides bearing different reactive groups into distinct populations
of fibrils, thus favoring interfibril cross-linking. Further, by specifying
the intermixing of RGD-bearing peptides in 2-D and 3-D self-assemblies,
the growth of HUVECs and NIH 3T3 cells could be significantly modulated.
This approach may be immediately applicable toward a wide variety
of self-assembling systems that form stable supramolecular structures.