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Hydrogels for the Detection and Management of Protease Levels
Author(s) -
Patrick Alison G.,
Ulijn Rein V.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.200900457
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , protease , chemistry , förster resonance energy transfer , biophysics , elastase , fluorescence spectroscopy , enzyme , matrix metalloproteinase , chymotrypsin , amino acid , fluorescence , biochemistry , trypsin , polymer chemistry , biology , physics , quantum mechanics
The design of hydrogels that simultaneously report protease activity and remove excess protease from solution is elucidated. The hydrogels, based on amino‐PEGA, combine enzyme‐specific peptides flanked with FRET complimented by charged amino acid residues that facilitate protease uptake via short range electrostatic interactions. Enzymatic response was analysed using a combination of fluorescence spectroscopy, two‐photon microscopy and UV/Vis spectroscopy. An optimised elastase‐responsive hydrogel resulted in lowering of elastase levels below those typical of chronic wounds. The versatility of the modular‐design approach was demonstrated by development of matrix metalloprotease and chymotrypsin sensitive systems.