Design and development of ecm-inspired peptidebased nanostructures for bioengineering and biomedicine
Author(s)
Advisor
Tekinay, Ayşe BegümDate
2017-08Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
Advances in understanding of cell-matrix interactions and the regulation of cellular
behaviors through nanobiotechnological tools have presented new perspectives for
regenerative medicine. Peptide amphiphiles have been used as building blocks for
development of bioactive synthetic nanofiber scaffolds for regenerative medicine
applications. Biocompatibility, tailorable characteristics, and mechanical stability as
well as bioactivitiy of these peptide nanostructures make them ideal candidates for
biomedical applications. To guide natural cellular activities, biomaterials should provide a microenvironment
similar to that experienced by cells under natural conditions. The native extracellular
matrix (ECM) not only provides a suitable physical environment but also
incorporates the necessary set of biochemical and mechanical signals to ensure the
normal function of cells, as well as mediating their differentiation, morphogenesis and homeostasis by providing biological, physical, and chemical recognition signals
that can trigger specific interactions with cell surface receptors.
In this thesis, different ECM-mimetic peptide nanofiber formulations were designed
and developed, which were shown to have superior chondrogenic and therapeutic
effect on stem cell differentiation in vitro and cartilage regeneration in vivo. Hence,
the synthetic peptide nanomaterials harbor great promise in mimicking specific ECM
molecules as therapeutic agents and model systems.
Keywords
Extracellular matrixPeptide nanofiber
Mesenchymal stem cell
Cartilage regneration
Bioactive scaffold