To
support cell motility and matrix deposition, it is often
desirable to incorporate a mechanism for enzymatic
degradation into synthetic hydrogels but the irregular
network structure of radically polymerized
di(meth)acrylate hydrogels limits control of the gel
erosion profile and leads to a broad distribution of
molecular weight degradation products. Thiol-ene
photopolymerization (a radical-mediated step-growth
polymerization) provides means to incorporate
proteolytically cleavable peptides into a highly regular
gel network structure. Thiol moieties on cysteine-containing
peptides react with allyl ether end-groups on a
multi-arm PEG monomer in 1:1 ratio of functionalities.
Because the polymerization is initiated with light,
physiological reaction conditions, temporal and spatial
control are all realized.
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