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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Generation and Recovery of β-cell Spheroids From Step-growth PEG-peptide Hydrogels
Published on: December 6, 2012
Cyclodextrin-Induced Suppression of PEG Crystallization from the Melt in a PEG-Peptide Conjugate
Ian W Hamley1, Valeria Castelletto1, Daniel Hermida-Merino2
1School of Chemistry, Food Biosciences and Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AD, UK.
Abstract:
The influence of alpha-cyclodextrin (αCD) on PEG crystallization is examined for a peptide-PEG conjugate, YYKLVFF-PEG3k comprising an amyloid peptide YYKLVFF linked to PEG with molar mass 3 kg mol-1. Remarkably, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and simultaneous synchrotron small-angle/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) show that crystallization of PEG is suppressed by αCD, provided that the cyclodextrin content is sufficient. A hexagonal mesophase is formed instead. The αCD threading reduces the conformational flexibility of PEG, and hence suppresses crystallization. These results show that addition of cyclodextrins can be used to tune the crystallization of peptide-polymer conjugates and potentially other polymer/biomolecular hybrids.
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