Journal
JOURNAL OF SOL-GEL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume 92, Issue 3, Pages 618-627Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10971-019-05095-z
Keywords
Poly (L-valine); Thermo-sensitivity; Secondary structure; beta-sheet filaments; Hydrogel
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The delicacy of nature prompted scientists to create functional or responsive biomaterials using existing natural components. Here we reported novel thermo-gelling hydrogels based on methyl poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (L-valine) (mPEG-L-PV) diblock copolymer solutions, which exhibited well-defined sol-gel transition at a temperature range from 10 degrees C to 40 degrees C. The beta-sheet was the dominant secondary structure for poly(L-PV) block when the molecular weight of the polypeptide ranged from 277 Da to 1138 Da. The formation of mPEG-L-PV clear sol solutions was related to the stable nanostructures that were aggregated clusters of poly(L-PV) beta-sheet filaments and stabilized by the hydrophilic PEG segments. The block length of poly(L-PV) significantly affected the secondary structures of polypeptide and the morphology of assembled filaments, which resulted in different thermo-gelling behavior of the copolymer solutions. The occurrence of sol-gel transition with temperature was primarily due to the dehydration effect of PEG block, whereas in the case of the copolymer with a lower molecular weight of poly(L-PV) block, the change of polypeptide secondary structures also contributed to the formation of the gel. This paper provides fundamental information about the strong dependence of polypeptide block length on the nano-assembly morphology as well as thermosensitive behavior of polypeptide-based hydrogels. The block length of poly(L-PV) significantly affected the secondary structures of polypeptide and the morphology of assembled filaments, which resulted in different thermo-gelling behavior of the copolymer solutions.
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