MultiDomain Peptides are a class of amphiphilic self-assembling peptide which form thixotropic, nanofibrous hydrogels upon addition of suitable salts, such as those found in phosphate buffered saline. Their inherent propensity to self-assemble is very robust and this allows significant freedom in the selection of the specific amino acid sequence used in their design. Sequences can be tailored to allow for enzymatic degradation and cell adhession or for the display of mimics of a variety of growth factors. Additionally these hydrogels can be loaded with proteins or small molecule drugs and the release rates modified to suit the needs of the application. Collectively these properties make MultiDomain Peptides ideally suited as a bioregenerative platform. We have found that analysis of simple subcutaneous injections of these hydrogels in rats provides an excellent method of determining in vivo performance of these materials and allows us to determine rate of degradataion, rate of cellular infiltration, the relative inflammatory and / or immune response, possible fibrous encapsulation and any other biological responses which might be provoked within the nanofibrous hydrogel or in the animal. Results from these experiments then guide further experiments in more complicated injury and disease models. Successes in angiogenesis, neurogenesis and wound healing will be discussed.

Self-assembling multidomain peptides for tissue regeneration

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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