Issue 35, 2023

Pharmacological regulation of protein-polymer hydrogel stiffness

Abstract

The extracellular matrix (ECM) undergoes constant physiochemical change. User-programmable biomaterials afford exciting opportunities to study such dynamic processes in vitro. Herein, we introduce a protein-polymer hydrogel whose stiffness can be pharmacologically and reversibly regulated with conventional antibiotics. Specifically, a coumermycin-mediated homodimerization of gel-tethered DNA gyrase subunit B (GyrB) creates physical crosslinking and a rheological increase in hydrogel mechanics, while competitive displacement of coumermycin with novobiocin returns the material to its softened state. These unique platforms could potentially be modulated in vivo and are expected to prove useful in elucidating the effects of ECM-presented mechanical signals on cell function.

Graphical abstract: Pharmacological regulation of protein-polymer hydrogel stiffness

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 jun 2023
Accepted
07 aug 2023
First published
15 aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2023,13, 24487-24490

Pharmacological regulation of protein-polymer hydrogel stiffness

K. Wu, R. C. Bretherton, J. Davis and C. A. DeForest, RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 24487 DOI: 10.1039/D3RA04046A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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