Patent No. 11,370,757

Description:
This patent application embodies a photoreactive amino acid and three collagen-like peptides that were synthesized using this amino acid building block. The peptides have the capability to undergo photolysis by two-photon absorption using an infrared femtosecond laser. These peptides are novel biomaterials that can form soft hydrogels, with and without cross linking, and the hydrogels can then be structurally manipulated by subtractive manufacturing using laser technology. For example, pores of defined length and diameters can be introduced into the hydrogel with the laser. Two of the peptides also contain an RGD amino acid sequence to facilitate cell adhesion and penetration. The new materials disclosed here can be used as matrices and scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.

Abstract:
A novel 34 amino acid long collagen-like peptide rich in proline, hydroxyproline, and glycine, and with several photoreactive N-acyl-7-nitroindoline units incorporated into the peptide backbone was synthesized by on-resin fragment condensation. The circular dichroism measurement of this peptide supports a stable triple helix structure. This peptide has potential as a new biomimetic material with built-in latent photochemical functions that enable the decomposition into small peptide fragments by illumination with UV light of 350 nm. Using a photoreactive glycine derivative as a model compound for the collagen-like peptide, we demonstrate that its photolysis can also be triggered by a two-photon absorption process using a femtosecond laser at 710 nm. When a thin film of this compound is irradiated with femtosecond laser light at 710 nm the photochemistry occurs only at locations of irradiation. In addition, the collagen-like peptide is able to support mesenchymal stem cell growth, indicating its non-toxicity to these cells and its potential in tissue engineering applications.


UTEP Docket No: 2017-024