Abstract
Peptide gel materials are appealing tools to explore and manipulate biological systems. Their controllable self-assembly properties [e.g. stiffness, degradability] and biocompatibility are well-suited for biomaterial application, e.g. as scaffolds for growth and differentiation of cells/tissues. However, synthesis is costly, slow, and far from green, making discovery of new materials slow.
This PhD project will exploit developments from studies on the Origin of Life [simple synthesis, without sophisticated protection/deprotection protocols or biology’s machinery] to make cheap, plentiful, materials resembling peptides, then explore their potential as biomaterials [e.g. for cell culture or antimicrobial coatings].
References
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