Protein Engineered Triblock Polymers Composed of Two SADs: Enhanced Mechanical Properties and Binding Abilities.

Recombinant methods have been used to engineer artificial protein triblock polymers composed of two different self-assembling domains (SADs) bearing one elastin (E) flanked by two cartilage oligomeric matrix protein coiled-coil (C) domains to generate CEC. To understand how the two C domains improve small molecule recognition and the mechanical integrity of CEC, we have constructed CEC, which bears an impaired C domain that is unstructured as a negative control. The CEC triblock polymer demonstrates increased small molecule binding and ideal elastic behavior for hydrogel formation.

Circular Dichroistic Impacts of 1-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylurea: Secondary Structure Artifacts Arising from Bioconjugation Using 1-Ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide.

1-Ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide (EDC) is a commonly used reagent for bioconjugation and peptide synthesis. Both EDC and the corresponding urea derivative, 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylurea (EDU), are achiral. As the reagent is active in aqueous solutions, it is a common choice for the study of evolving secondary structural changes via circular dichroism.

Channel density and porosity of degradable bridging scaffolds on axon growth after spinal injury.

Bridges implanted into the injured spinal cord function to stabilize the injury, while also supporting and directing axon growth. The architecture of the bridge is critical to its function, with pores to support cell infiltration that integrates the implant with the host and channels to direct axon elongation. Here, we developed a sucrose fiber template to create poly(lactide-co-glycolide) multiple channel bridges for implantation into a lateral hemisection that had a 3-fold increase in channel number relative to previous bridges and an overall porosity ranging from approximately 70%-90%.