In traditional therapies, scar tissue, a fibrous tissue synthesized rapidly by fibroblast cells, dominates the natural healing processes, quickly and cleanly sealing the wound and protecting the body from further injury or infection. However, the properties of scar differ greatly from those of uninjured tissue, resulting in a tissue that is strong but stiff and non-compliant, which is in direct contrast to the elasticity of cardiac tissue, the toughness of muscle, and the compliance of nerve tissue. To assist in the regrowth, some success has been found in applying a synthetic material with intrinsic electronic properties to stimulate tissue regrowth. These conductive materials have shown significant promise in encouraging neural, muscular, and cardiac regeneration, particularly when flexible conducting organic moieties are used. In addition to recapitulating the electronic activity, the long-range order and morphology of native tissues is complex and intrinsic to function. In the Sydlik group, we are synthesizing novel, conductive peptide materials to create materials for tissue engineering that embody both the intrinsic conductivity and long range order of native tissues. Specifically, we are using living polymerization techniques to synthesize peptide-conjugated polymer block copolymers and sequence controlled peptide-graphite composites. These multiblock copolymers self assemble to give soft hydrogels with long range order and electrical conductivity that serve to fill the void in neural defects or fortify damaged cardiac tissue. Additionally, we are pioneering a new technique that allows us to grow sequence controlled peptides on the surface of graphite. The peptides can be used to dictate cell adhesion and these materials are particularly of interest for cardiac regeneration, where the stiffening effect as well as conductivity have important implications in healing.

Peptide-conjugated block copolymers and sequence controlled peptide-graphite composites: Conductive peptide hybrid materials with electronic activity

254th National Meeting (2017)

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