Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146390
Title: Cryogelation of human hair keratins
Authors: Chua, Huei Min
Zhao, Zhitong
Ng, Kee Woei
Keywords: Engineering::Materials::Biomaterials
Issue Date: 2020
Source: Chua, H. M., Zhao, Z., & Ng, K. W. (2020). Cryogelation of human hair keratins. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 41(21), e2000254-. doi:10.1002/marc.202000254
Journal: Macromolecular Rapid Communications 
Abstract: Human hair keratins (HHK) are known for their biocompatibility and potential to regulate cell response, possibly due to the presence of the leucine-aspartic-valine cell adhesion and signaling motifs. Together with the abundance of cysteine residues in HHK, 3D HHK scaffolds are fabricated through cryogelation based on spontaneous disulfide crosslinks and noncovalent interactions. Herein, the molecular mechanism of HHK self-assembly during cryogelation is interrogated and the influence of cryogelation parameters on the properties of the resultant scaffolds is studied. With successive freeze-thaw cycles, the storage modulus (G') of HHK cryogels substantially improves from 116.4 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 3 (FT3) to 1908.7 Pa at freeze-thaw cycle 10 (FT10). Meanwhile, it is found that complete thiol-capping of HHK samples significantly inhibits cryogel formation as compared to partially or uncapped HHK samples, suggesting the dominant role of disulfide stabilization in cryogelation. Finally, uniaxial compression tests on HHK sponges demonstrate that FT cycling, from 0 to 10, is able to improve the compression modulus of sponges by ≈12-folds. These findings show that macroscale properties of HHK cryogels can be conveniently modulated by physical parameters of cryogelation and that disulfide bonding is the main stabilizing force in HHK cryogels.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146390
ISSN: 1022-1336
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202000254
Schools: School of Materials Science and Engineering 
Rights: This is the accepted version of the following article: Chua, H. M., Zhao, Z., & Ng, K. W. (2020). Cryogelation of human hair keratins. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 41(21), e2000254-. doi:10.1002/marc.202000254, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000254. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Wiley Self-Archiving Policy [https://authorservices.wiley.com/authorresources/Journal-Authors/licensing/self-archiving.html].
Fulltext Permission: open
Fulltext Availability: With Fulltext
Appears in Collections:MSE Journal Articles

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