Title data
DeSimone, Elise ; Schacht, Kristin ; Scheibel, Thomas:
Cations influence the cross-linking of hydrogels made of recombinant, polyanionic spider silk proteins.
In: Materials Letters.
Vol. 183
(2016)
.
- pp. 101-104.
ISSN 0167-577X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2016.07.044
Abstract in another language
Hydrogels made of polyanionic recombinant spider silk proteins (spidroins) were prepared either in the presence or the absence of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM). Mono- and divalent cations present in DMEM severely affected the self-assembly process of the spidroins. Although the addition of DMEM had no apparent effect on secondary structure formation, there was a significant effect on the kinetics as well as on the hydrogel network; in the presence of DMEM, gelation occurred more rapidly. Additionally, the hydrogels were stiffer; however, the hydrogels were still shear-thinning. In summary, it can be concluded that there is a significant impact of ionic cross-linking on recombinant spidroin-based hydrogels.