Cryogelation of human hair keratins
Human hair keratins (HHK) are known for their biocompatibility and potential to regulate cell response, possibly due to the presence of the leucine-aspartic-valine cell adhesion and signaling motifs. Together with the abundance of cysteine residues in HHK, 3D HHK scaffolds are fabricated through cry...
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sg-ntu-dr.10356-1463902023-07-14T16:00:26Z Cryogelation of human hair keratins Chua, Huei Min Zhao, Zhitong Ng, Kee Woei School of Materials Science and Engineering Engineering::Materials::Biomaterials 3D Scaffolds Cryogels Human hair keratins (HHK) are known for their biocompatibility and potential to regulate cell response, possibly due to the presence of the leucine-aspartic-valine cell adhesion and signaling motifs. Together with the abundance of cysteine residues in HHK, 3D HHK scaffolds are fabricated through cryogelation based on spontaneous disulfide crosslinks and noncovalent interactions. Herein, the molecular mechanism of HHK self-assembly during cryogelation is interrogated and the influence of cryogelation parameters on the properties of the resultant scaffolds is studied. With successive freeze-thaw cycles, the storage modulus (G') of HHK cryogels substantially improves from 116.4 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 3 (FT3) to 1908.7 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 10 (FT10). Meanwhile, it is found that complete thiol-capping of HHK samples significantly inhibits cryogel formation as compared to partially or uncapped HHK samples, suggesting the dominant role of disulfide stabilization in cryogelation. Finally, uniaxial compression tests on HHK sponges demonstrate that FT cycling, from 0 to 10, is able to improve the compression modulus of sponges by ≈12-folds. These findings show that macroscale properties of HHK cryogels can be conveniently modulated by physical parameters of cryogelation and that disulfide bonding is the main stabilizing force in HHK cryogels. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Accepted version This research is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) under its Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics IAF-PP (H17/01/a0/0L9). The authors would like to acknowledge the Facility for Analysis, Characterization, Testing and Simulation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, for their technical support in scanning electron microscopy analysis. 2021-02-16T00:58:13Z 2021-02-16T00:58:13Z 2020 Journal Article Chua, H. M., Zhao, Z., & Ng, K. W. (2020). Cryogelation of human hair keratins. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 41(21), e2000254-. doi:10.1002/marc.202000254 1022-1336 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146390 10.1002/marc.202000254 32776404 2-s2.0-85089134967 21 41 e2000254 en Macromolecular Rapid Communications This is the accepted version of the following article: Chua, H. M., Zhao, Z., & Ng, K. W. (2020). Cryogelation of human hair keratins. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 41(21), e2000254-. doi:10.1002/marc.202000254, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000254. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Wiley Self-Archiving Policy [https://authorservices.wiley.com/authorresources/Journal-Authors/licensing/self-archiving.html]. application/pdf |
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Engineering::Materials::Biomaterials 3D Scaffolds Cryogels Chua, Huei Min Zhao, Zhitong Ng, Kee Woei Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
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Human hair keratins (HHK) are known for their biocompatibility and potential to regulate cell response, possibly due to the presence of the leucine-aspartic-valine cell adhesion and signaling motifs. Together with the abundance of cysteine residues in HHK, 3D HHK scaffolds are fabricated through cryogelation based on spontaneous disulfide crosslinks and noncovalent interactions. Herein, the molecular mechanism of HHK self-assembly during cryogelation is interrogated and the influence of cryogelation parameters on the properties of the resultant scaffolds is studied. With successive freeze-thaw cycles, the storage modulus (G') of HHK cryogels substantially improves from 116.4 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 3 (FT3) to 1908.7 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 10 (FT10). Meanwhile, it is found that complete thiol-capping of HHK samples significantly inhibits cryogel formation as compared to partially or uncapped HHK samples, suggesting the dominant role of disulfide stabilization in cryogelation. Finally, uniaxial compression tests on HHK sponges demonstrate that FT cycling, from 0 to 10, is able to improve the compression modulus of sponges by ≈12-folds. These findings show that macroscale properties of HHK cryogels can be conveniently modulated by physical parameters of cryogelation and that disulfide bonding is the main stabilizing force in HHK cryogels. |
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School of Materials Science and Engineering |
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School of Materials Science and Engineering Chua, Huei Min Zhao, Zhitong Ng, Kee Woei |
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Article |
author |
Chua, Huei Min Zhao, Zhitong Ng, Kee Woei |
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Chua, Huei Min |
title |
Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
title_short |
Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
title_full |
Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
title_fullStr |
Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cryogelation of human hair keratins |
title_sort |
cryogelation of human hair keratins |
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2021 |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146390 |
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1773551399127220224 |