A cysteine-containing elastin-like polypeptide (ELP2cys) was successfully synthesized and purified, and was shown to behave in a similar fashion to other well-characterized ELPs. Incorporating the ELP2cys as a crosslinking agent into a solution of sulphated hyaluronan (CMHA-S) not only decreased the gelation time of the solution but also increased the crosslinking density of the resultant hydrogel, in turn increasing both the resiliency and stiffness
of the construct. Preliminary in vitro work involved culture of human disc cells, followed by their encapsulation within the hydrogel. Unfortunately the results were inconclusive, although it appeared as though the addition of ELP2cys to the matrix did not negatively affect the viability
of the cells, as compared to hydrogels with CMHA-S only. This study showed that ELP2cys is a valuable addition to the family of recombinant elastin-like polypeptides, and shows promise as a crosslinking agent in the formation of hyaluronan hydrogels.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/17236 |
| Date | 26 February 2009 |
| Creators | Windisch, Leah Marianne |
| Contributors | Woodhouse, Kimberly A. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 2380584 bytes, application/pdf |
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