Biomimetic peptide-polymer nanostructured materials

• Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Markus Biesalski
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Präparative und Physikalische Chemie von Polymeren
• Förderung: Förderung von 2000 bis 2012
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5251194

In the last years a novel approach to improve the bioactivity of surfaces was developed in the group of Prof. M. Tirrell. Surfaces modified with peptide-amphiphile molecules consisting of lipid tail and a peptide-sequence, which promotes cell-adhesion and spreading, were prepared and characterized. The lipidation of a collagen peptide-sequences induces a self-assembling of the peptide-amphiphiles into a triple-helical conformation in solution, similar to the structure of the collagen in vivo. It was shown that thin layers of the peptide-amphiphiles in which the lipid tails were adsorbed onto solid substrates promote cell-adehsion and cell-spreading. In the proposed project ... research on the synthesis of peptide-amphiphiles as well as on the improvement of bioactivity (cell-adehsion, cell-spreading) will be followed. Using unsaturated as well as "short" fatty acid alcohols for the lipidation of distinct peptide-sequences peptide amphiphiles will be generated and characterized which should give more "flexible" layers at solid surfaces. Furthermore, to improve the stability of the layers, polymerizable lipids which can be polymerized in the lipid film will be used. Additionally the peptide-amphiphile layers will be covalently attached to solid surfaces to improve long-term stability of the films. Finally cell-adhesion as well as cell-spreading will be investigated on the pre-formed peptideamphiphile modified surfaces.

• DFG-Verfahren: Emmy Noether-Nachwuchsgruppen