Biomedical Applications of Molecular Gels

Abstract

This chapter describes various emerging and potential biomedical applications of molecular gels, focusing on three main areas: drug delivery, tissue engineering and three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. Before discussing these in details, the generic benefits of using molecular gels for medical applications are discussed with focus on their ability to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). The first main area to be covered is then the use of molecular gels in drug delivery which again can be divided into three main categories; passive release of drugs from molecular gels, enzyme-trigged release and therapeutic molecular gels where the gelator molecule itself is the active drug. In all these cases the emphasis is on examples that have been tested or demonstrated in cell cultures (in vitro) or live animals (in vivo). The second main area concerns the use of molecular gels in tissue engineering highlighting successful examples of the how molecular gels can promote and direct the activity of stem cells to repair damaged tissues. The final main area discussed in this chapter is the development of 3D cell culture based on molecular gels. This emerging field illustrates well the advantages that molecular gels have in terms of chemical purity, synthetic ease and diversity, combined with their ECM mimicking ability, in comparison with polymeric or biologically sourced competing 3D cell culture models. The chapter concludes with some examples of emerging trends in the area and a discussion on what the future outlook is for the use of molecular gels in biomedicine.

Will it gel? Successful computational prediction of peptide gelators using physicochemical properties and molecular fingerprints

“…There are many applications of these gels, from sensing, cell culturing and electronics, all of which require not just that a gel is formed, but often that the gelator contains specific functional groups. 4 – 6 Whilst there is significant current interest in these materials, progress is perhaps most hampered by the lack of design rules for these gelators. 2 , 7 An extremely large number of effective gelators are known, with a wide diversity of molecular structures.…”

Lysine-based non-cytotoxic ultrashort self-assembling peptides with antimicrobial activity

“…9,10 For instance, the development of new supramolecular hydrogelators and the variety of their structures and functions are possible as a result of the non-covalent interactions. [11][12][13][14][15] In addition, in many cases the inspiration for these optimizations is nature, leading to biomimetic or bioinspired materials. [16][17][18] In this context, short and ultrashort peptides, and even single amino acid derivatives, have been reported as effective hydrogelators.…”

Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) Studies on the Structural Evolution of Pyromellitamide Self-Assembled Gels

“…The development of self-assembled gels is a burgeoning field due to their unique properties and similarities to materials found in cells and the human body. , Their applications in medicine and biomaterials are extensive, from targeted drug delivery to artificial muscle fibers and even as a scaffold for the regeneration of new spinal cords . The design and synthesis of organic-molecule-based self-assembling gels has advanced rapidly over the last two decades, and we are beginning to see the incorporation of more than simply structural motifs in the gel molecule architecture .…”