| 1. |
- Aronsson, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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Self-sorting heterodimeric coiled coil peptides with defined and tuneable self-assembly properties
- 2015
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2045-2322. ; 5:14063
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coiled coils with defined assembly properties and dissociation constants are highly attractive components in synthetic biology and for fabrication of peptide-based hybrid nanomaterials and nanostructures. Complex assemblies based on multiple different peptides typically require orthogonal peptides obtained by negative design. Negative design does not necessarily exclude formation of undesired species and may eventually compromise the stability of the desired coiled coils. This work describe a set of four promiscuous 28-residue de novo designed peptides that heterodimerize and fold into parallel coiled coils. The peptides are non-orthogonal and can form four different heterodimers albeit with large differences in affinities. The peptides display dissociation constants for dimerization spanning from the micromolar to the picomolar range. The significant differences in affinities for dimerization make the peptides prone to thermodynamic social self-sorting as shown by thermal unfolding and fluorescence experiments, and confirmed by simulations. The peptides self-sort with high fidelity to form the two coiled coils with the highest and lowest affinities for heterodimerization. The possibility to exploit self-sorting of mutually complementary peptides could hence be a viable approach to guide the assembly of higher order architectures and a powerful strategy for fabrication of dynamic and tuneable nanostructured materials.
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| 2. |
- Aronsson, Christopher
(författare)
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Tunable and modular assembly of polypeptides and polypeptide-hybrid biomaterials
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biomaterials are materials that are specifically designed to be in contact with biological systems and have for a long time been used in medicine. Examples of biomaterials range from sophisticated prostheses used for replacing outworn body parts to ordinary contact lenses. Currently it is possible to create biomaterials that can e.g. specifically interact with cells or respond to certain stimuli. Peptides, the shorter version of proteins, are excellent molecules for fabrication of such biomaterials. By following and developing design rules it is possible to obtain peptides that can self-assemble into well-defined nanostructures and biomaterials.The aim of this thesis is to create ”smart” and tunable biomaterials by molecular self-assembly using dimerizing –helical polypeptides. Two different, but structurally related, polypeptide-systems have been used in this thesis. The EKIV-polypeptide system was developed in this thesis and consists of four 28-residue polypeptides that can be mixed-and-matched to self-assemble into four different coiled coil heterodimers. The dissociation constant of the different heterodimers range from μM to < nM. Due to the large difference in affinities, the polypeptides are prone to thermodynamic social self-sorting. The JR-polypeptide system, on the other hand, consists of several 42-residue de novo designed helix-loop-helix polypeptides that can dimerize into four-helix bundles. In this work, primarily the glutamic acid-rich polypeptide JR2E has been explored as a component in supramolecular materials. Dimerization was induced by exposing the polypeptide to either Zn2+, acidic conditions or the complementary polypeptide JR2K.By conjugating JR2E to hyaluronic acid and the EKIV-polypeptides to star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol), respectively, highly tunable hydrogels that can be self-assembled in a modular fashion have been created. In addition, self-assembly of spherical superstructures has been investigated and were obtained by linking two thiol-modified JR2E polypeptides via a disulfide bridge in the loop region. ŒThe thesis also demonstrates that the polypeptides and the polypeptide-hybrids can be used for encapsulation and release of molecules and nanoparticles. In addition, some of the hydrogels have been explored for 3D cell culture. By using supramolecular interactions combined with bio-orthogonal covalent crosslinking reactions, hydrogels were obtained that enabled facile encapsulation of cells that retained high viability.The results of the work presented in this thesis show that dimerizing α–helical polypeptides can be used to create modular biomaterials with properties that can be tuned by specific molecular interactions. The modularity and the tunable properties of these smart biomaterials are conceptually very interesting andmake them useful in many emerging biomedical applications, such as 3D cell culture, cell therapy, and drug delivery.
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| 3. |
- Dånmark, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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Development of a novel microfluidic device for long-term in situ monitoring of live cells in 3-dimensional matrices
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biomedical microdevices (Print). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1387-2176 .- 1572-8781. ; 14:5, s. 885-893
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using the latest innovations in microfabrication technology, 3-dimensional microfluidic cell culture systems have been developed as an attractive alternative to traditional 2-dimensional culturing systems as a model for long-term microscale cell-based research. Most microfluidic systems are based on the embedding of cells in hydrogels. However, physiologically realistic conditions based on hydrogels are difficult to obtain and the systems are often too complicated. We have developed a microfluidic cell culture device that incorporates a biodegradable rigid 3D polymer scaffold using standard soft lithography methods. The device permits repeated high-resolution fluorescent imaging of live cell populations within the matrix over a 4 week period. It was also possible to track cell development at the same spatial location throughout this time. In addition, human primary periodontal ligament cells were induced to produce quantifiable calcium deposits within the system. This simple and versatile device should be readily applicable for cell-based studies that require long-term culture and high-resolution bioimaging.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Dånmark, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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In vitro and in vivo degradation profile of aliphatic polyesters subjected to electron beam sterilization
- 2011
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Ingår i: ACTA BIOMATERIALIA. - : Elsevier BV. - 1742-7061. ; 7:5, s. 2035-2046
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Degradation characteristics in response to electron beam sterilization of designed and biodegradable aliphatic polyester scaffolds are relevant for clinically successful synthetic graft tissue regeneration Scaffold degradation in vitro and in vivo were documented and correlated to the macroscopic structure and chemical design of the original polymer The materials tested were of inherently diverse hydrophobicity and crystallinity poly(L-lactide) (poly(LLA)) and random copolymers from L-lactide and epsilon-caprolactone or 1.5-dioxepan-2-one, fabricated into porous and non-porous scaffolds After sterilization, the samples underwent hydrolysis in vitro for up to a year In vivo, scaffolds were surgically implanted into rat calvarial defects and retrieved for analysis after 28 and 91 days In vitro, poly(L-lactide-co-1, 5-dioxepan-2-one) (poly(LLA-co-DXO)) samples degraded most rapidly during hydrolysis, due to the pronounced chain-shortening reaction caused by the sterilization. This was indicated by the rapid decrease in both mass and molecular weight of poly(LLA-co-DXO). Poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (poly(LLA-co-CL)) samples were also strongly affected by sterilization, but mass loss was more gradual; molecular weight decreased rapidly during hydrolysis Least affected by sterilization were the poly(LLA) samples, which subsequently showed low mass loss rate and molecular weight decrease during hydrolysis. Mechanical stability varied greatly. poly(LLA-co-CL) withstood mechanical testing for up to 182 days, while poly(LLA) and poly(LLA-co-DXO) samples quickly became too brittle Poly(LLA-co-DXO) samples unexpectedly degraded more rapidly in vitro than in vivo. After sterilization by electron beam irradiation, the three biodegradable polymers present widely diverse degradation profiles, both in vitro and in vivo. Each exhibits the potential to be tailored to meet diverse clinical tissue engineering requirements
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| 7. |
- Dånmark, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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Integrin-mediated adhesion of human mesenchymal stem cells to extracellular matrix proteins adsorbed to polymer surfaces
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biomedical Materials. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-6041 .- 1748-605X. ; 7:3, s. 035011-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In vitro, degradable aliphatic polyesters are widely used as cell carriers for bone tissue engineering, despite their lack of biological cues. Their biological active surface is rather determined by an adsorbed layer of proteins from the surrounding media. Initial cell fate, including adhesion and proliferation, which are key properties for efficient cell carriers, is determined by the adsorbed layer of proteins. Herein we have investigated the ability of human bone marrow derived stem cells (hBMSC) to adhere to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including fibronectin and vitronectin which are present in plasma and serum. hBMSC expressed integrins for collagens, laminins, fibronectin and vitronectin. Accordingly, hBMSC strongly adhered to these purified ECM proteins by using the corresponding integrins. Although purified fibronectin and vitronectin adsorbed to aliphatic polyesters to a lower extent than to cell culture polystyrene, these low levels were sufficient to mediate adhesion of hBMSC. It was found that plasma- and serum-coated polystyrene adsorbed significant levels of both fibronectin and vitronectin, and fibronectin was identified as the major adhesive component of plasma for hBMSC; however, aliphatic polyesters adsorbed minimal levels of fibronectin under similar conditions resulting in impaired cell adhesion. Altogether, the results suggest that the efficiency of aliphatic polyesters cell carriers could be improved by increasing their ability to adsorb fibronectin.
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| 8. |
- Dånmark, Staffan
(författare)
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Polyester scaffold: Material design and cell-protein-material interaction
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tissue engineering has emerged as a valid approach for the regeneration and restoration of bone defects. The concept of bone tissue engineering includes degradable scaffolds, osteogenic cells and osteoinductive growth factors either alone or in any combination of these three. The scaffold bulk material and its design, in particular, are essential for reaching clinically relevant treatments. It is essential that the scaffold is biocompatible and acts as a temporary extra-cellular matrix with a porous 3-dimensional structure, supporting adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of osteogenic cells. Yet another criterion of the scaffold is that is must have sufficient mechanical stability to maintain structural integrity and protect the cells with a gradual transfer of mechanical load to the developing tissue. At the same time, the scaffolds needs to be bioresorbable with a controllable degradation rate depending on its application and the rate of tissue regrowth. In this thesis, aliphatic polyester scaffolds have been modified and shown to be suitable for bone tissue engineering applications. In addition, a new microfluidic device for live imaging of cell behavior within porous 3-dimensional scaffolds has been developed. Highly porous and degradable aliphatic polyester scaffolds with varying pore sizes and interconnected pores were fabricated. The polyesters assayed were random co-polyesters poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) [poly(LLA-co-CL)] and poly(L-lactide-co-1,5-dioxepan-2-one) [poly(LLA-co-DXO] and the homopolymer poly(L-lactide) [poly(LLA)]. The inherently different polymers yielded scaffolds with a wide range of properties with respect to surface chemistry, thermal properties, mechanical stability and degradation rate. The polyester scaffolds were shown to support the increased proliferation of bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSC) as well as enhanced osteogenic differentiation, with increased levels of osteocalcin gene expression, which emphasized their potential to act as cells carriers in bone tissue engineering. The potential of poly(LLA-co-CL) scaffolds and common biomedical polyesters in bone tissue engineering was further enhanced by surface functionalization. This involved two different methods of immobilization of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), a potent bone-growth-inducing factor, to the assayed polyesters. The first method used BMP-2 immobilized to heparin functionalized polyesters, while the second method covalently bonded BMP-2 to grafted linker groups on polyesters. Both immobilization techniques retain the bioactivity of BMP-2, and growth-factor-modified polyesters showed an increasing expression of osteogenic genes and production of osteocalcin in osteoblasts-like cells as well as increased proliferation in the mouse cell line, C3H10T1/2. The rate of degradation of electron-beam-sterilized polyester scaffolds and the subsequent loss of mechanical stability were strongly dependent on the chemical, physical and macroscopic architecture of the samples. The degradation rate and loss of mechanical integrity were much greater in porous scaffolds with hydrophilic co-monomers. By incorporating hydrophobic co-monomers with a limited ability to crystalize instead of hydrophilic co-monomers, the mechanical stability was retained for a longer time during the degradation process. The polyester supported spreading and flattened the morphology of both BMSC and osteoblast-like cells. The early cell adhesion to synthetic surfaces is mainly governed by the proteins adsorbed from its surrounding fluids. Early adhesion of BMSC to blood-plasma-coated polyesters was limited, despite the ability of the polyesters to adsorb adhesive proteins and expression of appropriate integrins on BMSC. However, adhesion to a purified adhesive matrix protein on the polyesters did occur, suggesting that pretreatment of polyester scaffolds with adhesive proteins or peptides is a feasible way to enhance the efficiency of cell loading into polyester scaffolds. Polyester scaffolds were combined with microfluidics and soft lithography to develop a new method for high-resolution imaging of live cells within porous scaffolds. The microfluidic device was used to frequently follow live cell proliferation and differentiation on the same spatial location within 3-dimansional porous scaffolds over a period of more than four weeks. This device is attractive for the evaluation of cells and materials intended for tissue engineering. We conclude that degradable aliphatic co-polyester scaffolds carefully designed with respect to macroscopic structure, bulk material and surface chemistry are able to meet the specific requirements of various bone tissue engineering applications. In addition, microfluidic devices permit reoccurring high resolution imaging of live cells within porous scaffolds and have a potential as a method of evaluating tissue engineering constructs.
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| 9. |
- Dånmark, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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Tailoring Supramolecular Peptide-Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels by Coiled Coil Self-Assembly and Self-Sorting
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biomacromolecules. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 1525-7797 .- 1526-4602. ; 17:6, s. 2260-2267
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Physical hydrogels are extensively used in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, different applications require hydrogels with different mechanical and structural properties. Tailoring these properties demands exquisite control over the supramolecular peptides with different affinities for dimerization. Four different mechanical properties of hydrogels using de novo designed coiled coil interactions involved. Here we show that it is possible to control the nonorthogonal peptides, designed to fold into four different coiled coil heterodimers with dissociation constants spanning from mu M to pM, were conjugated to star-shaped 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The different PEG-coiled coil conjugates self-assemble as a result of peptide heterodimerization. Different combinations of PEG peptide conjugates assemble into PEG peptide networks and hydrogels with distinctly different thermal stabilities, supramolecular, and rheological properties, reflecting the peptide dimer affinities. We also demonstrate that it is possible to rationally modulate the self-assembly process by means of thermodynamic self-sorting by sequential additions of nonpegylated peptides. The specific interactions involved in peptide dimerization thus provides means for programmable and reversible self-assembly of hydrogels with precise control over rheological properties, which can significantly facilitate optimization of their overall performance and adaption to different processing requirements and applications.
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| 10. |
- Idris, Shaza B., et al.
(författare)
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Biocompatibility of Polyester Scaffolds with Fibroblasts and Osteoblast-like Cells for Bone Tissue Engineering
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of bioactive and compatible polymers (Print). - : SAGE Publications. - 0883-9115 .- 1530-8030. ; 25:6, s. 567-583
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility of the developed aliphatic polyester co-polymer scaffolds: poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) and poly(L-lactide-co-1,5-dioxepan-2-one). The scaffolds were produced by solvent casting and particulate leaching, and tested by direct and indirect contact cytotoxicity assays on human osteoblast-like cells and mouse fibroblasts. Cell morphology was documented by light and scanning electron microscopy. Viability was assessed by the MTT, neutral red uptake, lactic dehydrogenase and apoptosis assays. Extraction tests confirmed that the scaffolds did not have a cytotoxic effect on the cells. The cells grew and spread well on the test scaffolds with good cellular attachment and viability. The scaffolds are noncytotoxic and biocompatible with the two cell types and warrant continued investigation as potential constructs for bone tissue engineering.
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