title: Synthesis and primary characterization of self-assembled peptide-based hydrogels.
abstract: Hydrogels based on peptide self-assembly form an important class of biomaterials that find application in tissue engineering and drug delivery. It is essential to prepare peptides with high purity to achieve batch-to-batch consistency affording hydrogels with reproducible properties. Automated solid-phase peptide synthesis coupled with optimized Fmoc (9-fluorenylmethoxy-carbonyl) chemistry to obtain peptides in high yield and purity is discussed. Details of isolating a desired peptide from crude synthetic mixtures and assessment of the peptide's final purity by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are provided. Beyond the practical importance of synthesis and primary characterization, techniques used to investigate the properties of hydrogels are briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Radhika P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Nagarkar
authors.forename: Joel P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005449:Fluorenes; D020100:Hydrogels; D010455:Peptides