title: Macromolecular diffusion and release from self-assembled beta-hairpin peptide hydrogels.
abstract: Self-assembling peptide hydrogels are used to directly encapsulate and controllably release model FITC-dextran macromolecules of varying size and hydrodynamic diameters. MAX1 and MAX8 are two peptide sequences with different charge states that have been designed to intramolecularly fold and self assemble into hydrogels at physiological buffer conditions (pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl). When self-assembly is initiated in the presence of dextran or protein probes, these macromolecules are directly encapsulated in the gel. Self-diffusion studies using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and bulk release studies indicate that macromolecule mobility within, and release out of, these gels can be modulated by varying the hydrogel mesh size. The average mesh size can be modulated by simply varying the concentration of a given peptide used to construct the gel or by altering the peptide sequence. In addition, results suggest that electrostatic interactions between the macromolecules and the peptide network influence mobility and release. Depending on probe size, release half-lives can be varied from 8h to over a month.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Monica C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.forename: Darrin J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pochan
authors.forename: Norman J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Joel P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry; D004058:Diffusion; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D036681:Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D016062:Porosity; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003911:Dextrans; D004337:Drug Carriers; D020100:Hydrogels; D015335:Molecular Probes; D010455:Peptides; C015219:fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate