Journal article
Polypeptide-Based Macroporous Cryogels with Inherent Antimicrobial Properties: The Importance of a Macroporous Structure
SJ Shirbin, SJ Lam, NJA Chan, MM Ozmen, Q Fu, N O'Brien-Simpson, EC Reynolds, GG Qiao
ACS Macro Letters | AMER CHEMICAL SOC | Published : 2016
Abstract
Synthetic polypeptide-based macroporous cryogels with inherent antimicrobial properties were prepared for potential water purification applications. Gels were chemically cross-linked through the amine residue of a polycationic polylysine-b-polyvaline block copolymer with glutaraldehyde as cross-linker under cryogenic conditions. These cryogels exhibited excellent water swelling and highly compressible mechanical properties owing to their macroporous structure. The antibacterial performance was evaluated based on E. coli viability, with cryogels exhibiting up to 95.6% reduction in viable E. coli after a brief 1 h incubation. In comparison to the hydrogel control, the presence of macropores is..
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Grants
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council (ARC) for funding in the form of a Discovery Project (DP140100002). S.J.S. would like to thank The University of Melbourne, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), and the Melbourne Materials Institute (MMI) for various scholarships. S.J.L. acknowledges the Australian Government for providing an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) and an Australian Postgraduate Award (APAInt). M.M.O. acknowledges TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), 2219-Postdoctorial Fellowship. G.G.Q, acknowledges the ARC under the Future Fellowship (FT110100411, G.G.Q). The authors would also like to thank Mr. Dunyin Gu for help with mechanical testing measurements and for Mr. Ke Xie for help with surface area BET measurements.