title: Enhanced mechanical rigidity of hydrogels formed from enantiomeric peptide assemblies.
abstract: Chirality can be used as a design tool to control the mechanical rigidity of hydrogels formed from self-assembling peptides. Hydrogels prepared from enantiomeric mixtures of self-assembling β-hairpins show nonadditive, synergistic, enhancement in material rigidity compared to gels prepared from either pure enantiomer, with the racemic hydrogel showing the greatest effect. CD spectroscopy, TEM, and AFM indicate that this enhancement is defined by nanoscale interactions between enantiomers in the self-assembled state.
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21701, United States.
authors.forename: Katelyn J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Giano
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Darrin J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pochan
authors.forename: Joel P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010316:Particle Size; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D010455:Peptides