Thixotropic Peptide-Based Physical Hydrogels Applied to Three-Dimensional Cell Culture.

ABSTRACT: Pseudopeptides containing the d-Oxd or the d-pGlu [Oxd = (4R,5S)-4-methyl-5-carboxyl-oxazolidin-2-one, pGlu = pyroglutamic acid] moiety and selected amino acids were used as low-molecular-weight gelators to prepare strong and thixotropic hydrogels at physiological pH. The addition of calcium chloride to the gelator solutions induces the formation of insoluble salts that get organized in fibers at a pH close to the physiological one. Physical characterization of hydrogels was carried out by morphologic evaluation and rheological measurements and demonstrated that the analyzed hydrogels are thixotropic, as they have the capability to recover their gel-like behavior. As these hydrogels are easily injectable and may be used for regenerative medicine, they were biologically assess

SUBMITTER: Zanna N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6044849 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature