Chemistry M313, School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, W.A. 6009, Australia, Nanochemistry Research Institute, Department of Chemistry, Curtin University of Technology, Kent St, Bentley, W.A. 6102, Australia, Queensland Eye Institute, 41 Annerley Road, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia, Faculty of Science and Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia, Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, Chemistry Building 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7, and Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 974, Taiwan, ROC.
Biomacromolecules. 2010 Nov 8;11(11):2949-59. doi: 10.1021/bm100756c. Epub 2010 Oct 20.
PHEMA-peptide and P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-peptide conjugate hydrogels [where PHEMA = poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate; PEGMA = poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate] were readily prepared via photoinitiated free-radical polymerization in water. The PHEMA-peptide hydrogels were opaque and had a heterogeneous morphology of interconnected polymer droplets, characteristic of polymers that separate from the aqueous phase during the polymerization experiment. The P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-peptide conjugates were transparent gels with a homogeneous morphology when formed in water, but when formed in aqueous NaCl solutions the P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-peptide conjugates were also opaque and exhibited the heterogeneous morphology of interconnected polymer droplets. When incubated in solutions containing activated papain, P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-peptide conjugates underwent degradation that was characterized by macroscopic changes to sample shape and size, sample weight, and microscopic structure. PHEMA-peptide conjugates did not undergo any significant degradation when incubated with papain, although ninhydrin-staining experiments suggested that some peptide cross-linker groups were cleaved during the incubation. The difference in degradation behavior of PHEMA-peptide and P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-peptide conjugates is attributed to differences in aqueous solubility of PHEMA and P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)].
PHEMA-肽和 P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-肽缀合物水凝胶[其中 PHEMA = 聚(2-羟乙基甲基丙烯酸酯; PEGMA = 聚(乙二醇)甲基丙烯酸酯]可通过水相中的光引发自由基聚合轻易制备。PHEMA-肽水凝胶不透明，具有聚合物液滴相互连接的不均匀形态，这是聚合实验期间聚合物从水相分离的特征。P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-肽缀合物在水中形成时为透明凝胶，形态均匀，但在含有 NaCl 的水溶液中形成时也不透明，并呈现聚合物液滴相互连接的不均匀形态。当在含有激活的木瓜蛋白酶的溶液中孵育时，P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-肽缀合物发生降解，其特征是样品形状和尺寸、样品重量和微观结构的宏观变化。PHEMA-肽缀合物在与木瓜蛋白酶孵育时没有发生任何明显的降解，尽管茚三酮染色实验表明在孵育过程中一些肽交联基团被切断。PHEMA-肽和 P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]-肽缀合物降解行为的差异归因于 PHEMA 和 P[HEMA-co-(MeO-PEGMA)]在水中溶解度的差异。
