Our platform technology is a novel self-healing hydrogel that easily transforms into a liquid, and just as easily transforms back into gel.
The hydrogel is stable in neutral pH and remains as gel formation in a wide range of temperatures from 2° C to 80° C. PepGel has developed this technology for use in 3D cell culture, and other uses may include sustained release drug/protein delivery, cell therapy, vaccine, wound healing, cosmetic and orthopedic applications.
The PepGel hydrogel is a synthetic peptide-based material with 19 amino acid residues. The primary structure of peptide was rationally designed from the combination of spider silk and trans-membrane segment of human muscle L-type calcium channel. The peptide has great balance of hydrophobic, hydrophilic and charged segments which contribute to the material stability in neutral pH and different temperature.
The mechanical strength of the hydrogel presents a special shear-thinning and rapid recovery property, which allows this hydrogel system to be delivered as an injectable material by syringe or pipette multiple times. Other stunning uses include:
Sensor Design | Cell Releasing Agent |
Changing orientation | Novel filtration methods |
Use with microscopic probes | Imaging Phantoms |
Optical Coherence Tomography | With/Without nanoparticles |
Partial Wave Spectroscopy | Photo-acoustic Spectroscopy |
Peptide Hydrogelation and Cell Encapsulation for 3D Culture of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.
PLOS ONE, 2013, e59482
Design of a shear-thinning recoverable peptide hydrogel from native sequences and application for influenza H1N1 vaccine adjuvant
Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 8905-8912.
Structural Transformation and Physical Properties of a Hydrogel-Forming Peptide Studied by NMR, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Dynamic Rheometer.
Biophysical Journal. 2012, 103, 979-988
Rational Design of Responsive Self-Assembling Peptides from Native Protein Sequences
Biomacromolecules, 2010, 11, 3390-3394.
Peptide nanofiber hydrogel adjuvanted live virus vaccine enhances cross-protective immunity to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
Vaccine, 2013, 31, 4508-4515.
Design and Demonstration of a Pumpless 14 Compartment Microphysiological System
Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2213–2227.