title: Silicification of genipin-cross-linked polypeptide hydrogels toward biohybrid materials and mesoporous oxides.
abstract: A simple and versatile approach is proposed to use cross-linked polypeptide hydrogels as templates for silica mineralization, allowing the synthesis of polypeptide-silica hybrid hydrogels and mesoporous silica (meso-SiO(2)) by subsequent calcination. The experimental data revealed that the cross-linked polypeptide hydrogels comprised of interconnected, membranous network served as templates for the high-fidelity transcription of silica replicas spanning from nanoscale to microscale, resulting in hybrid network comprised of interpenetrated polypeptide nanodomains and silica. The mechanical properties of these as-prepared polypeptide-silica hybrid hydrogels were found to vary with polypeptide chain length and composition. The synergy between cross-link, hydrophobic interaction, and silica deposition can lead to the enhancement of their mechanical properties. The polypeptide-silica hybrid hydrogel with polypeptide and silica content as low as 1.1 wt% can achieve 114 kN/m(2) of compressive strength. By removing the polypeptide nanodomains, mesoporous silicas with average pore sizes ranged between 2 nm and 6 nm can be obtained, depending on polypeptide chain length and composition. The polypeptide-silica hybrid hydrogels demonstrated good cell compatibility and can support cell attachment/proliferation. With the versatility of polymer chemistry and feasibility of amine-catalyzed sol-gel chemistry, the present method is facile for the synthesis of green nanocomposites and biomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan, Taiwan 70101, Republic of China. jsjan@mail.ncku.edu.tw
authors.forename: Jeng-Shiung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Pei-Shan
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ping-Lun
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Bo-Yu
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D020100:Hydrogels; D039823:Iridoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D039823:Iridoids; D010087:Oxides; D010455:Peptides; D017640:Silicates; C007834:genipin