Comment on "Short peptide analogs as alternatives to collagen in pro-regenerative corneal implants" by Jangamreddy JR et al.

n/

Applications of self-assembling peptide scaffolds in regenerative medicine: the way to the clinic

Peptides that self-assemble into well-defined nanofibrous networks provide a prominent alternative to traditional biomaterials for fabricating scaffolds for use in regenerative medicine and other biomedical applications. Such scaffolds can be generated by decorating a peptide backbone with other bioactives such as cell specific adhesion peptides, growth factors and enzyme cleavable sequences. They can be designed to mimic the three-dimensional (3D) structural features of native ECM and can therefore also provide insight into the ECM-cell interactions needed for development of scaffolds that can serve as regeneration templates for specific target tissues or organs. This review highlights the potential application of self-assembling peptides in regenerative medicine.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council, Sweden [2012-42315-94008-81]</p

Lignin Functionalized with Catechol for Large-Scale Organic Electrodes in Bio-Based Batteries

Lignin, obtained as a waste product in huge quantities from the large-scale cellulose processing industries, holds a great potential to be used as sustainable electrode material for large-scale electroactive energy storage systems. The fixed number of redox-active phenolic groups present within the lignin structure limits the electrochemical performance and the total energy storage capacity of the lignin-based electrodes. Herein, the way to enhance the charge storage capacity of lignin by incorporating additional small catechol molecules into the lignin structure is demonstrated. The catechol derivatives are covalently attached to the lignin via aromatic electrophilic substitution reaction. The increased phenolic groups in all functionalized lignin derivatives notably increase the values of capacitance compared to pristine lignin. Further, solvent fractionation of lignin followed by functionalization using catechol boosts three times the charge capacity of lignin electrode. Herein, a scalable, cost-effective method to enhance the electrochemical performance of lignin electrodes via incorporation of small redox active moieties into the lignin structure is demonstrated. Solvent fractionation of lignin followed by functionalization using catechol increases the charge storage capacity of the lignin-carbon composite electrode by a factor of 3 reaching record high charge capacity above 100 mAh g-1.Funding Agencies|Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 2020-0174]; Wallenberg Wood Science Center; Swedish Energy Agency [P52023-1]; Forsk Foundation [22-134]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoeping University [2009-00971]</p

An ionic thermoelectric ratchet effect in polymeric electrolytes

Ionic thermoelectric materials can generate extraordinarily high thermal voltage under small temperature differences due to their orders of magnitude larger Seebeck coefficient than that of electronic materials. Together with their low-cost, environmentally friendly compositions and solution processability, electrolytes have brought renewed prosperity in thermoelectric fields. Despite the rapid growing number of good-performance materials, yet to be implemented in devices, the main challenge is the understanding of the mechanism of the large Seebeck coefficient in practical electrolytes. Here, we show that the ion/polymer interaction in PEG based electrolytes does not only affect the mobility of the ions, but also has a great impact on the Seebeck coefficient. By delicately varying the types of solvent and the concentration of the solute, we could tune the molar conductivity of the electrolytes and correlate with the Seebeck coefficient. The linear relation between the Seebeck coefficient and the logarithm of the molar conductivity is in agreement with the recently reported thermoelectric ratchet effect in ions with hopping dynamics. This could lead to new design rules for ionic thermoelectrics.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council [VR 2016-05990, 2016-06146, 2018-04037]; Advanced Functional Materials Center at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation</p

Type I Collagen-Derived Injectable Conductive Hydrogel Scaffolds as Glucose Sensors

The advent of home blood glucose monitoring revolutionized diabetes management, and the recent introduction of both wearable devices and closed-loop continuous systems has enormously impacted the lives of people with diabetes. We describe the first fully injectable soft electrochemical glucose sensor for in situ monitoring. Collagen, the main component of a native extracellular matrix in humans and animals, was used to fabricate an in situ gellable self-supporting electroconductive hydrogel that can be injected onto an electrode surface or into porcine meat to detect glucose amperometrically. The study provides a proof-of-principle of an injectable electrochemical sensor suitable for monitoring tissue glucose levels that may, with further development, prove clinically useful in the future.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council [DNR 621-2012-4286, VR-2014-3079, VR 2015-04434 DIABETSENS]; CeNano Ph.D. student salary grant; Carl Tryggers Stifelsen Grant [CTS 16:207]</p

Effect of Sulfonation Level on Lignin/Carbon Composite Electrodes for Large-Scale Organic Batteries

The key figure-of-merit for materials in stationary energy storage applications, such as large-scale energy storage for buildings and grids, is the cost per kilo per electrochemical cycle, rather than the energy density. In this regard, forest-based biopolymers such as lignin, are attractive, as they are abundant on Earth. Here, we explored lignin as an electroactive battery material, able to store two electrons per hydroquinone aromatic ring, with the targeted operation in aqueous electrolytes. The impact of the sulfonation level of lignin on the performance of its composite electrode with carbon was investigated by considering three lignin derivatives: lignosulfonate (LS), partially desulfonated lignosulfonate (DSLS), and fully desulfonated lignin (KL, lignin produced by the kraft process). Partial desulfonation helped in better stability of the composite in aqueous media, simultaneously favoring its water processability. In this way, a route to promote ionic conductivity within the lignin/carbon composite electrodes was developed, facilitating the access to the entire bulk of the volumetric electrodes. Electrochemical performance of DSLS/C showed highly dominant Faradaic contribution (66%) towards the total capacity, indicating an efficient mixed ionic-electronic transport within the lignin-carbon phase, displaying a capacity of 38 mAh/g at 0.25 A/g and 69% of capacity retention after 2200 cycles at a rate of 1 A/g

Intelligent ECM mimetic injectable scaffolds based on functional collagen building blocks for tissue engineering and biomedical applications

Hydrogels comprising natural extracellular matrix (ECM) components are very attractive as scaffolds for regenerative medicine applications due to their inherent biointeractive properties. Responsive materials that adapt to their surrounding environments and regulate transport of ions and bioactive molecules manifest significant advantages for biomedical applications. Although there are many exciting challenges, the opportunity to design, fabricate and engineer stimuli-responsive polymeric systems based on ECM components is particularly attractive for regenerative medicine. Here we describe a one-pot approach to fabricate in situ fast gellable intelligent ECM mimetic scaffolds, based on methacrylated collagen building blocks with mechanical properties that can be modulated in the kPa-MPa range and that are suitable for both soft and hard tissues. Physiochemical characterizations demonstrate their temperature and pH responsiveness, together with the structural and enzymatic resistance that make them suitable scaffolds for long-term use in regenerative medicine and biomedical applications. The multifunctionality of these hydrogels has been demonstrated as an in situ depot-forming delivery platform for the adjustable controlled release of proteins and small drug molecules under physiological conditions and as a structural support for adhesion, proliferation and metabolic activities of human cells. The results presented herein should be useful to the design and fabrication of tailor-made scaffolds with tunable properties that retain and exhibit sustained release of growth factors for promoting tissue regeneration.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council Junior Researcher Project [621-2012-4286]; CeNano PhD student salary grant; FP7-Health-Innovation program, acronym HESUB [2-2013-601700]</p

Self-Discharge in Batteries Based on Lignin and Water-in-Polymer Salt Electrolyte

Lignin, the most abundant biopolymer on earth, has been explored as an electroactive material in battery applications. One essential feature for such lignin-based batteries to reach successful usage and implementation, e.g., large-scale stationary grid applications, is to have slow self-discharge characteristics on top of the essential safety and life-cycle properties. Water-in-polymer salt electrolytes (WIPSEs) have been demonstrated as an attractive route to solve this issue; however, little has been done to understand the fundamentals of actual self-discharge mechanisms. Herein, the impact of some critical chemical and physical parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen, viscosity, and cutoff potential) on self-discharge of batteries based on WIPSE and lignin has been investigated. The pH range is crucial as there is an interplay between long-term stability and high energy density. Indeed, lignin derivatives typically store relatively more charge in acidic media but later promote corrosion affecting device stability. A robust and high-performing organic battery, incorporating potassium polyacrylate as WIPSE, is demonstrated, which expresses good self-discharge behavior for a broad range of pH and with little impact on the atmosphere used for manufacturing. It is believed that the investigation will provide critical insights to the research community to promote the advancement of printed large-scale energy storage devices.Funding Agencies|Knut and Alice Wallenberg (KAW) foundation [KAW 2019.0344, KAW 2020.0174]; Swedish Research Council [2016-05990]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; KAW</p

NXO beta structure mimicry: an ultrashort turn/hairpin mimic that folds in water

We report the first application of NXO-pseudopeptides for beta-turn mimicry. Incorporating the proline-derived NProO peptidomimetic building block, a minimal tetrapeptide beta-hairpin mimic has been designed, synthesized and its solution structure elucidated. Emulating a natural proline-glycine beta-turn, evidence from NMR, molecular modeling and CD suggests the formation of two rapidly interconverting hairpin folds in water, methanol and dimethyl-sulfoxide at room temperature, displaying the proline nitrogen amide bond in either cis or trans arrangement. The NProO-modified hairpin features peptidic backbone dihedrals phi, Psi characteristic of natural proline-containing turns composed of alpha-amino acids only. Taken together, the observed folding behavior and inherently high designability render the NProO motif a building block for beta-structure elaboration in aqueous medium