Self-assembling peptides (SAPs) are synthetic bioinspired biomaterials that can be feasibly multi-functionalized for cell transplantation and/or drug delivery therapies. Despite their superior biocompatibility and ease of scaling-up for production, they are unfortunately hampered by weak mechanical properties due to transient non-covalent interactions among and within the self-assembled peptide chains, thus limiting their potential applications as fillers, hemostat solutions, and fragile scaffolds for soft tissues. Here, we have developed and characterized a cross-linking strategy that increases both the stiffness and the tailorability of SAP hydrogels, enabling the preparation of transparent flexible threads, discs, channels, and hemispherical constructs. Empirical and computational results, in close agreement with each other, confirmed that the cross-linking reaction does not affect the previously self-assembled secondary structures. In vitro tests also provided a first hint of satisfactory biocompatibility by favoring viability and differentiation of human neural stem cells. This work could bring self-assembling peptide technology to many applications that have been precluded so far, especially in regenerative medicine.

中文翻译：

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交联的自组装肽支架

自组装肽（SAPs）是受生物启发的合成生物材料，可以针对细胞移植和/或药物递送疗法进行多功能化。尽管它们具有出色的生物相容性和易于扩大生产的规模，但不幸的是，由于自组装肽链之间和内部的瞬时非共价相互作用，它们受到弱的机械性能的阻碍，从而限制了其作为填充剂，止血剂和抗氧化剂的潜在应用。易碎的软组织支架。在这里，我们已经开发并表征了一种交联策略，该策略既提高了SAP水凝胶的刚度又提高了其可定制性，从而能够制备透明的柔性线，盘，通道和半球形结构。经验和计算结果，彼此非常一致，体外试验还通过促进人类神经干细胞的活力和分化，提供了令人满意的生物相容性的第一个提示。这项工作可以将自组装肽技术带入到目前为止已被排除的许多应用中，特别是在再生医学中。