Self-Assembled Amino Acid Microstructures as Biocompatible Physically Unclonable Functions (BPUFs) for Authentication...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Public Health

Background:

• Counterfeited biomedical products cause significant economic losses and public health risks.
• Hydrogels, promising biomedical alternatives, are vulnerable to counterfeiting.
• Authenticating hydrogels is crucial for patient safety and regulatory compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biocompatible, physically unclonable function (BPUF) for authenticating therapeutically relevant hydrogels.
• To create a secure method for verifying hydrogel integrity against counterfeiting and tampering.
• To demonstrate the translational potential of BPUF technology for real-world applications.

Main Methods:

• Incorporating self-assembled tyrosine fibril-like structures into hydrogels to create unique, unclonable physical arrangements.
• Utilizing optical microscopy to capture distinctive micrographs of the dispersed structures.
• Applying cryptographic techniques to convert optical micrographs into unique security codes for authentication.
• Assessing the temporal stability of BPUFs and their response to adulterants to detect tampering.

Main Results:

• Successfully developed a BPUF system for hydrogel authentication based on tyrosine self-assembly.
• Demonstrated that the unique dispersion of BPUFs yields distinctive optical micrographs.
• Generated unique security codes from micrographs for reliable hydrogel verification.
• Confirmed the temporal stability of BPUFs and their ability to indicate tampering via dissolution.

Conclusions:

• The developed BPUF technology offers a simple, cost-effective, and biocompatible solution to combat hydrogel counterfeiting.
• BPUFs provide a robust mechanism for authenticating hydrogels and detecting adulteration.
• This technology holds significant translational potential for ensuring the integrity of biomedical products.