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Synthesis and Primary Characterization of Self-Assembled Peptide-Based Hydrogels

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Nanostructure Design

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 474))

Summary

Hydrogels based on peptide self-assembly form an important class of biomaterials that find application in tissue engineering and drug delivery. It is essential to prepare peptides with high purity to achieve batch-to-batch consistency affording hydrogels with reproducible properties. Automated solid-phase peptide synthesis coupled with optimized Fmoc (9-fluorenylmethoxy-carbonyl) chemistry to obtain peptides in high yield and purity is discussed. Details of isolating a desired peptide from crude synthetic mixtures and assessment of the peptide's final purity by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are provided. Beyond the practical importance of synthesis and primary characterization, techniques used to investigate the properties of hydrogels are briefly discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the National Institutes of Health grant R01 DE016386-01. We also thank Lisa A. Haines-Butterick for optimization of the synthesizer chemistry and her helpful discussions for this chapter as well as Karthikan Rajagopal for performing the MAX3 studies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

    Radhika P. Nagarkar & Joel P. Schneider

Authors
  1. Radhika P. Nagarkar
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  2. Joel P. Schneider
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ehud Gazit (Faculty of Life Science) (Faculty of Life Science)

  2. Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, SAIC-Frederick National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD

    Ruth Nussinov

  3. Department of Human Genetics Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ruth Nussinov

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science + Business Media, LLC

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Nagarkar, R.P., Schneider, J.P. (2008). Synthesis and Primary Characterization of Self-Assembled Peptide-Based Hydrogels. In: Gazit, E., Nussinov, R. (eds) Nanostructure Design. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 474. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-480-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-480-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-934115-35-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-480-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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