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A Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Based on Telechelic PEG End‐Capped with Hydrophobic Dipeptides
Author(s) -
Hamley Ian W.,
Cheng Ge,
Castelletto Valeria
Publication year - 2011
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.201100022
Subject(s) - peg ratio , self healing hydrogels , rheology , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , chemistry , self assembly , amphiphile , hydrophobic effect , materials science , copolymer , nanotechnology , polymer , organic chemistry , composite material , finance , engineering , economics
The self‐assembly in aqueous solution of PEG (1 500 Da) telechelically end‐capped with hydrophobic dipeptides has been investigated using spectroscopic, microscopic, scattering, and rheological methods. A self‐assembled β‐sheet fibril‐based hydrogel has been identified (containing dityrosine end groups), which exhibits a gel–sol transition near body temperature. This thermo‐responsive PEG‐based biofunctional hydrogel is expected to have diverse potential uses in delivery or diagnostics for biomedical applications.