Issue 23, 2013

Dynamically crosslinked materials via recognition of amino acids by cucurbit[8]uril

Abstract

Hydrogels, an increasingly important class of material, have physical properties amenable to many potential uses, particularly in the biomedical area. Utilisation of hydrogels, however, relies not only on their mechanical properties but also on a favourable toxicity profile. Self assembly of polymers through naturally occurring and non-toxic units is therefore a very attractive option. The aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tryptophan are two such molecular units that form 2 : 1 complexes with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) with high binding equilibrium constants (Keq up to 1012 M−2). Herein, water soluble styrenic monomers were copolymerised with synthetically derived aromatic amino acid monomers of phenylalanine and tryptophan. The resulting polymers were shown to form dynamic and self-healing physically crosslinked hydrogels via recognition and binding of the amino acids to cucurbit[8]uril.

Graphical abstract: Dynamically crosslinked materials via recognition of amino acids by cucurbit[8]uril

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Feb 2013
Accepted
19 Apr 2013
First published
30 Apr 2013
This article is Open Access

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2904-2910

Dynamically crosslinked materials via recognition of amino acids by cucurbit[8]uril

M. J. Rowland, E. A. Appel, R. J. Coulston and O. A. Scherman, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, 1, 2904 DOI: 10.1039/C3TB20180E

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