title: Supramolecular hydrogels with reverse thermal gelation properties from (oligo)tyrosine containing block copolymers.
abstract: Novel block copolymers comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and an oligo(tyrosine) block were synthesized in different compositions by N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization. It was shown that PEG2000-Tyr(6) undergoes thermoresponsive hydrogelation at a low concentration range of 0.25-3.0 wt % within a temperature range of 25-50 °C. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) revealed a continuous network of fibers throughout the hydrogel sample, even at concentrations as low as 0.25 wt %. Circular dichroism (CD) results suggest that better packing of the β-sheet tyrosine block at increasing temperature induces the reverse thermogelation. A preliminary assessment of the potential of the hydrogel for in vitro application confirmed the hydrogel is not cytotoxic, is biodegradable, and produced a sustained release of a small-molecule drug.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Conn L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hastings
authors.forename: Garry P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: Helena M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Jaclyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raeburn
authors.forename: Dave J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heise
mesh_terms: D006358:Hot Temperature; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D009842:Oligopeptides; D011108:Polymers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D014443:Tyrosine