Light-activated hydrogel formation via the triggered folding and self-assembly of a designed peptide.

Photopolymerization can be used to construct materials with precise temporal and spatial resolution. Applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, the fabrication of microfluidic devices and the preparation of high-density cell arrays employ hydrogel materials that are often prepared by this technique. Current photopolymerization strategies used to prepare hydrogels employ photoinitiators, many of which are cytotoxic and require large macromolecular precursors that need to be functionalized with moieties capable of undergoing radical cross-linking reactions.

Cytocompatibility of self-assembled beta-hairpin peptide hydrogel surfaces.

MAX1 is a 20 amino acid peptide that undergoes triggered self-assembly to form a rigid hydrogel. When dissolved in aqueous solutions, this peptide exists in an ensemble of random coil conformations rendering it fully soluble. The addition of an exogenous stimulus results in peptide folding into beta-hairpin conformation.