Supramolecular Self-assembly of a Novel Hydrogelator: Characterization of Fiber Morphology and Formation and Thermal-Reversible Gelation

Published

October 8, 2016

Author(s)

Jack F. Douglas, Yuan Gao Yuan Gao, Ryan C. Nieuwendaal, Emilios Dimitriadis, Boualem Hammouda, Bing Xu, Ferenc Horkay

Abstract

Hydrogels are of intense recent interest in connection with biomedical applications ranging from 3-D cell cultures and stem cell differentiation to regenerative medicine, controlled drug delivery and tissue engineering. This prototypical form of soft matter has many emerging material science applications outside the medical field. The physical processes underlying this type of solidification are incompletely understood and this limits materials design efforts aimed at optimizing these materials for applications. We address this general problem by applying multiple techniques (e.g., NMR, dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, rheological measurements) to the case of a novel peptide derivative hydrogelator (molecule 1, NapFFKYp) over a broad range of concentration and temperature to characterize both the formation of individual nanofibers and the fiber network. We believe that a better understanding of the self-assembly process and control over the morphology and properties of this kind of material will be generally useful for biological and medicinal applications utilizing hydrogels.

Citation

Gels-

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

hydrogelator, self-assembly, thernmally reversible gel, NMR, dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, rheology

Citation

Douglas, J. , , Y. , Nieuwendaal, R. , Dimitriadis, E. , Hammouda, B. , , B. and Horkay, F. (2016), Supramolecular Self-assembly of a Novel Hydrogelator: Characterization of Fiber Morphology and Formation and Thermal-Reversible Gelation, Gels- (Accessed April 19, 2024)