Printable polypeptide hydrogels with antimicrobial properties

ended

Biomaterials with antimicrobial properties which can be used for wound healing and tissue engineering applications offer high application potential due to the global increase of antimicrobial resistance. While polypeptides own this potential, their integration into a materials platform has not been realised to date. The overall objective of this project is to develop 3D printable antimicrobial or bacteriostatic polypeptide hydrogel materials, which can be employed in tissue regeneration applications to prevent bacterial growth. In particular, the goals include synthesis of sets of cross-linked polypeptide hydrogels based on lysine (Lys) and investigation of their hydrogel properties and 3D printability. Moreover, evaluation, validation and quantification of the antimicrobial properties of the hydrogels as well as the proof of concept demonstration for their feasibility in tissue regeneration will be addressed. The synthesis of these particular copolypeptides hydrogels is highly novel and their exploitation as a printable tissue regenerating platform is timely, of high fundamental as well as clinical impact and considered a new approach. The proposed project is broadly interdisciplinary, as disciplines of polymer chemistry, biomaterials science and engineering, microbiology and in vitro assessment techniques will be combined. The high-level science combined with complementary training will significantly advance the career opportunities of the applicant. Moreover, the excellent match of the applicant`s expertise with the project and the host organisation will ensure a strong transfer of knowledge between all participants. The potential of the proposed project is further highlighted by the possible commercial exploitation of the scientific findings and developments. Finally, it will enable new collaboration opportunities between research groups from different scientific fields.