title: Macroporous Biodegradable Cryogels of Synthetic Poly(α-amino acids).
abstract: We present an investigation of the preparation of highly porous hydrogels based on biodegradable synthetic poly(α-amino acid) as potential tissue engineering scaffolds. Covalently cross-linked gels with permanent pores were formed under cryogenic conditions by free-radical copolymerization of poly[N(5)-(2-hydroxyethyl)-L-glutamine-stat-N(5)-(2-methacryloyl-oxy-ethyl)-L-glutamine] (PHEG-MA) with 2-hydrohyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and, optionally, N-propargyl acrylamide (PrAAm) as minor comonomers. The morphology of the cryogels showed interconnected polyhedral or laminar pores. The volume content of communicating water-filled pores was >90%. The storage moduli of the swollen cryogels were in the range of 1-6 kPa, even when the water content was >95%. The enzymatic degradation of a cryogel corresponded to the decrease in its storage modulus during incubation with papain, a model enzyme with specificity analogous to wound-healing enzymes. It was shown that cryogels with incorporated alkyne groups can easily be modified with short synthetic peptides using azide-alkyne cycloaddition "click" chemistry, thus providing porous hydrogel scaffolds with biomimetic features.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sedlačík
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Proks
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Šlouf
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Miroslava
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dušková-Smrčková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Studenovská
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic.|Department of Biomaterials and Bioanalogous Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry , Heyrovsky sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rypáček
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000737:chemistry; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D032701:Biomimetics; D057930:Click Chemistry; D059985:Cryogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry; D009019:Morphinans / Q000737:chemistry; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D000596:Amino Acids; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D059985:Cryogels; D008689:Methacrylates; D009019:Morphinans; C440369:N-propargyl; D010455:Peptides; D011108:Polymers