Encapsulating cancer cells with peptide hydrogels Nouf Alzahrani, Annamaria Lilienkampf, and Mark Bradley University of Edinburgh, UK
Hydrogels are highly solvated, cross-linked, three-dimensional networks. They can be formed from natural biological molecules such as hyaluronic acid and collagen or synthetic molecules that include polyethylene glycol or polyacrylamides, while supramolecular hydrogelators include self-assembling peptides and monosaccharides. Peptide hydrogels can self-organize in water to form ordered nanofibers and generate a variety of well-ordered scaffolds. In biomedical research, peptide hydrogels are frequently employed as scaffolds for 3D cell culture, tissue engineering, and have also been used as an injectable drug/cell delivery tool. Hydrogel substrates are also being used in regenerative medicine as scaffolds to aid the healing of damaged or injured tissues. The aim of my project is to design and synthesise peptides that upon cleavage by proteases form hydrogels in situ , and lead to cellular encapsulation, leading to a reduction in cell proliferation and migration. In my poster I summarize the composition and structure of the peptide hydrogels, and the influencing factors for gelation.
P02
© The Author(s), 2023
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