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Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Cultivation of Human Neural Progenitor Cells in a 3-dimensional Self-assembling Peptide Hydrogel
Published on: January 11, 2012
Enhanced proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells by peptide-containing temperature-sensitive hydrogel
Yanpiao Long1, Lesan Yan1, Honglian Dai1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China; Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Research Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China.
Abstract:
Hydrogel has attracted great attention in the past few years as a widely used material for repairing central nerve damage. However, conventional hydrogel bio-scaffold, such as chitosan, gelatin, and sodium alginate, lack sufficient biological activity and have limited nerve repair capabilities. Therefore, to explore biologically active and intelligent hydrogel materials is particularly important and necessary for central nerve repair. Herein, we developed a temperature-sensitive hydrogel grafted with a bioactive peptide IKVAV (Ile-Lys-Val-Ala-Val, IKVAV). The hydrogel was prepared by copolymerization of N-propan-2-ylprop-2-enamide (NIPAM) and AC-PEG-IKVAV copolymers via reversible addition-fracture chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, using polyethylene glycol (PEGDA) and N, N'-Methylenebisacrylamide (BISAM) as cross-linking agents. The prepared hydrogel scaffold demonstrates a series of excellent properties such as rapid (de)swelling performance, good biocompatibility, regular three-dimensional porous structure, and in particular good biological activity, which can guide cell fate and mediate neuron's differentiation. Therefore, the developed peptide hydrogel scaffold provides a new strategy for designing biomaterials that are widely used in tissue engineering for central nervous system injury.
