Star-Shaped Peptide-Polymer Hybrids as Fast pH-Responsive Supramolecular Hydrogels

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering

Background:

• Smart hydrogels offer significant potential across industrial, cosmetic, and biomedical fields.
• Designing hydrogels with tunable properties and responsiveness remains a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel 4-arm self-assembling peptide-polyethylene glycol (PEG) hybrid star-shaped polymers.
• To investigate the hydrogel properties, including self-assembly, pH responsiveness, and potential applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of peptide-PEG hybrid star polymers via thiol-maleimide click chemistry.
• Characterization of polymer self-assembly, β-sheet transitions, and hydrogel formation.
• Evaluation of hydrogel properties such as shear-thinning, self-healing, and pH-triggered gelation.

Main Results:

• The hybrid star polymers formed transparent hydrogels at 0.5 wt% concentration.
• Hydrogels exhibited shear-thinning, self-healing, and rapid pH-responsive gelation (seconds).
• Peptide block length and charge modulated hydrogel characteristics and pH sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized peptide-PEG star polymers form robust, pH-sensitive hydrogels with desirable dynamic properties.
• These materials are suitable as network scaffolds for dynamic environments and pH-responsive controlled release applications.