A self-assembled peptidic nanomillipede to fabricate a tuneable hybrid hydrogel

Abstract

A peptidic ‘nanomillipede’, consisting of a worm-like nanoscale ‘body’ and cysteine-terminated ‘legs’, was synthesized, tuned (with ultrasound) and utilized to crosslink the vinyl sulfone-modified dextran to form hybrid hydrogels with soft-tissue mimicking tuneable mechanical strength, self-healing property, and tuneable shear-thinning property, thereby indicating its potential use in tissue engineering and drug delivery.