Design and biosynthesis of stimuli-responsive hydrogels

Description

Invited talk, abstract and conference paper
Significant developments were obtained in the past years on the synthesis and characterization of stimuli-responsive hydrogels as novel intelligent materials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Intelligent hydrogels are able to respond to a number of physiological stimuli, like pH, ionic strength, temperature, metabolite concentration, by changing in situ their structural network and properties e.g. gelling behavior.
In this paper, we present the latest developments in our group on the design and biocatalytic synthesis of pH- and temperature responsive carbohydrate- and protein-based hydrogels with self-assembling and self-healing properties. Examples include (a) recombinant protein polymers with controlled molecular structure and property profiles able to self-organize into supramolecular fibers and hydrogels at neutral pH and (b) enzyme-tailored chitosan forming stable hydrogels at neutral and alkaline pH (Figure 1). Properties of hydrogels relevant for application as drug and cell carriers and as tissue engineering matrices will be discussed.

Period	15 Aug 2018 → 17 Aug 2018
Event title	25<sup>th </sup>Anniversary meeting of the Bio-Environmental Polymer Society (BEPS)
Event type	Conference
Location	Troy (NY), United States
Degree of Recognition	International