Blending complementary stereoregular macromolecules yields stereocomplexed materials that exhibit enhanced thermal and mechanical properties, binding affinity, and biochemical stability relative to materials comprised of either component alone. This talk will describe our labs efforts to develop stereocomplex-based cross-links from complementary d- and l-peptides to control the properties of polymer hydrogels. Relative to other peptide-based cross-links in dynamic hydrogels, stereochemistry-directed cross-links offer exceptional stability in the presence of degrading enzymes and, conceivably, an expanded range of binding strengths. To unlock the potential of peptide stereocomplex cross-links in dynamic biomaterials, we need to understand how the d- and l-peptide sequences comprising the cross-links impact the properties of the biomaterials. Therefore, we prepared a series of d- and l-helical peptides varying in length, charge, and hydrophobicity and attached them to 4-arm star polyethylene glycol (PEG). While conjugates decorated with d- or l-peptides flowed in aqueous solution, blending complementary conjugates generated hydrogels in cases where the peptide cross-links were sufficiently hydrophobic, even in the presence of repulsive electrostatic interactions. Going forward, we are excited to continue to determine the design rules correlating peptide cross-linker sequence to the properties of dynamic hydrogels with stereochemistry-directed cross-links.

Stereochemistry-directed cross-linking of dynamic hydrogels

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.