The relatively recent field of tissue engineering centers on recreating tissues using the three components of the tissue engineering triad: cells, scaffolds and biological factors. Our lab focuses on developing adaptable scaffolds and as such has developed MultiDomain Peptides (MDPs), which undergo hierarchical self-assembly to form nanofibrous hydrogels that are useful as cell scaffolds.  The main MDP sequence consists of an alternating hydrophilic-hydrophobic domain flanked by two charged domains.  This architecture can be adapted to contain different short peptides sequences, which alter the biological functionality of the material.  Previous research has resulted in the development of injectable, biologically active MDP hydrogels, which have been used to absorb and deliver the stem cell secretome, as well as regenerate dental pulp within a dentin cylinder. This work focuses on the development and characterization of new, threonine-based MDP sequences with improved handling properties.  Peptide secondary structure, nanofiber morphology, long-range hydrogel order and rheological properties of the new sequences are assessed and compared to that of previously characterized MDP sequences. The new peptides, as well as existing sequences from the MDP library, are then used to create optimized cell scaffolds that are combined with growth factors to direct the migration and differentiation of encapsulated stem cells. 

Enhancing the properties of nanofibrous multidomain peptide hydrogels through amino acid modification

245th National Meeting (2013)

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