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CatchGel - Catch Bond Cross-linked Hydrogels

Research Project
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01.01.2020
 - 31.12.2022

Exploiting Nature's architectures for the development of responsive materials has long been a high impact area of research. However, Nature's exquisite design is rarely equalled in synthetic systems and the unique mechanical behaviour of certain bacterial and cellular adhesins, and their receptor-ligand (RL) complexes, is no exception. The adhesive properties of these RL complexes are of particular interest in the development of mechanically adaptable materials. The observed increase in adhesive strength at low tensile force (catch bonds), followed by a decrease at higher shear stress (slip bonds), could lead to classes of materials with extraordinary mechanical properties. By transplanting these RL complexes into polymeric networks, materials with truly variable mechanical properties with respect to applied stress could be developed. While catch bonds have been observed in both cellular and bacterial RL complexes, bacterial systems are of particular interest in the planned research. The potential of the receptor unit to adhere both environmental bacteria and the adhesin ligand, should impart the newly developed materials with the ability to self-clean when developed in cooperation with anti-bacterial polymers. Mechanical modulation, combined with self- cleaning properties, is infinitely applicable in the biomedical materials field. However, these goals are filled with limitations, which the current research plans to overcome. The complexity of intermolecular interactions in biological systems, further complicated by the size of adhesin proteins, make understanding and manipulating interactions extremely difficult. The planned research aims to break down the complexity of transferring behaviour from biological molecules into macroscale materials by investigating the intramolecular interactions across a range of length scales as the research progresses from the molecular to the macroscale. This should be achieved by combining single molecule analysis techniques, particularly single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS), with chemical modification strategies, macroscale materials characterisation and supramolecular polymer chemistry. Examining how properties change as environmental complexity increases will allow more accurate development and manipulation of responsive biomimetic materials and greater understanding of the nano-macroscale relationships of complex multiphase systems. The objective of the proposed research is to obtain polymeric hydrogels whose assembly is controlled by RL complexes derived from bacterial adhesins and their substrates. In achieving this, a fundamental understanding of bacterial RL complexes and their behaviour as the complexity of their environment increases from biological molecules to synthetic macroscale materials will be gained.

Funding

CatchGel - Catch Bond Cross-linked Hydrogels

Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie (GrantsTool), 10.2020-11.2024 (50)
PI : Korb, Zarah.

Members (1)

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Michael Nash

Principal Investigator