TY - JOUR A1 - Thielke, Michael W. A1 - Secker, Christian A1 - Schlaad, Helmut A1 - Theato, Patrick T1 - Electrospinning of Crystallizable Polypeptoid Fibers JF - Macromolecular rapid communications N2 - A unique fabrication process of low molar mass, crystalline polypeptoid fibers is described. Thermoresponsive fiber mats are prepared by electrospinning a homogeneous blend of semicrystalline poly(N-(n-propyl) glycine) (PPGly; 4.1 kDa) with high molar mass poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). Annealing of these fibers at approximate to 100 degrees C selectively removes the PEO and produces stable crystalline fiber mats of pure PPGly, which are insoluble in aqueous solution but can be redissolved in methanol or ethanol. The formation of water-stable polypeptoid fiber mats is an important step toward their utilization in biomedical applications such as tissue engineering or wound dressing. KW - biomaterials KW - crystallization KW - electrospinning KW - polypeptoids KW - thermoresponsive Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201500502 SN - 1022-1336 SN - 1521-3927 VL - 37 SP - 100 EP - 104 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hommes-Schattmann, Paul J. A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Ahmad, Bilal A1 - Williams, Gareth R. A1 - Vanneaux, Valerie A1 - Menasche, Philippe A1 - Kalfa, David A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - RGD constructs with physical anchor groups as polymer co-electrospinnable cell adhesives JF - Polymers for advanced technologies N2 - The tissue integration of synthetic polymers can be promoted by displaying RGD peptides at the biointerface with the objective of enhancing colonization of the material by endogenous cells. A firm but flexible attachment of the peptide to the polymer matrix, still allowing interaction with receptors, is therefore of interest. Here, the covalent coupling of flexible physical anchor groups, allowing for temporary immobilization on polymeric surfaces via hydrophobic or dipole-dipole interactions, to a RGD peptide was investigated. For this purpose, a stearate or an oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) was attached to GRGDS in 51-69% yield. The obtained RGD linker constructs were characterized by NMR, IR and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry, revealing that the commercially available OEG and stearate linkers are in fact mixtures of similar compounds. The RGD linker constructs were co-electrospun with poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO). After electrospinning, nitrogen could be detected on the surface of the PPDO fibers by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nitrogen content exceeded the calculated value for the homogeneous material mixture suggesting a pronounced presentation of the peptide on the fiber surface. Increasing amounts of RGD linker constructs in the electrospinning solution did not lead to a detection of an increased amount of peptide on the scaffold surface, suggesting inhomogeneous distribution of the peptide on the PPDO fiber surface. Human adipose-derived stem cells cultured on the patches showed similar viability as when cultured on PPDO containing pristine RGD. The fully characterized RGD linker constructs could serve as valuable tools for the further development of tissue-integrating polymeric scaffolds. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KW - electrospinning KW - RGD peptides KW - cell adhesion KW - biofunctionalization Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pat.3963 SN - 1042-7147 SN - 1099-1581 VL - 28 SP - 1312 EP - 1317 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Quanchao A1 - Rudolph, Tobias A1 - Benitez, Alejandro J. A1 - Gould, Oliver E. C. A1 - Behl, Marc A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Temperature-controlled reversible pore size change of electrospun fibrous shape-memory polymer actuator based meshes JF - Smart materials and structures N2 - Fibrous membranes capable of dynamically responding to external stimuli are highly desirable in textiles and biomedical materials, where adaptive behavior is required to accommodate complex environmental changes. For example, the creation of fabrics with temperature-dependent moisture permeability or self-regulating membranes for air filtration is dependent on the development of materials that exhibit a reversible stimuli-responsive pore size change. Here, by imbuing covalently crosslinked poly(ε-caprolactone) (cPCL) fibrous meshes with a reversible bidirectional shape-memory polymer actuation (rbSMPA) we create a material capable of temperature-controlled changes in porosity. Cyclic thermomechanical testing was used to characterize the mechanical properties of the meshes, which were composed of randomly arranged microfibers with diameters of 2.3 ± 0.6 μm giving an average pore size of approx. 10 μm. When subjected to programming strains of εm = 300% and 100% reversible strain changes of εʹrev = 22% ± 1% and 6% ± 1% were measured, with switching temperature ranges of 10 °C–30 °C and 45 °C–60 °C for heating and cooling, respectively. The rbSMPA of cPCL fibrous meshes generated a microscale reversible pore size change of 11% ± 3% (an average of 1.5 ± 0.6 μm), as measured by scanning electron microscopy. The incorporation of a two-way shape-memory actuation capability into fibrous meshes is anticipated to advance the development and application of smart membrane materials, creating commercially viable textiles and devices with enhanced performance and novel functionality. KW - reversible shape-memory effect KW - fiber meshes KW - electrospinning Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/ab10a1 SN - 0964-1726 SN - 1361-665X VL - 28 IS - 5 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -