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Self-Assembling Hydrogels

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Summary

The overview focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of peptide/protein-containing polymers, which self-assemble into stimuli-sensitive hydrogels. Hybrid hydrogels are composed of two classes of molecules, synthetic and biological. They self-assemble from graft copolymers, block copolymers and by association of soluble polymers and protein domains. Genetic engineering provides a powerful tool to produce biomaterials (macromolecules) with precise control of composition, length, and three-dimensional structure. Minimal changes in the composition of the coiled-coil forming protein domains in genetically produced triblock copolypeptides result in dramatic changes in the properties of the copolymers and, ultimately, the self-assembled hydrogels. The application of self-assembling hydrogels as biomaterials has been investigated and has shown a promising future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA

    Chunyu Xu & Jindřich Kopeček

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  1. Chunyu Xu
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  2. Jindřich Kopeček
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Correspondence to Jindřich Kopeček.

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Xu, C., Kopeček, J. Self-Assembling Hydrogels. Polym. Bull. 58, 53–63 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-006-0597-0

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