We are excited to share our new preprint led by Korina Vida Sinad now available on bioRxiv!: Design and Synthesis of Peptide-Polyester Conjugates for Cell-Mediated Scaffold Degradation. This preprint describes how we integrated a protease-sensitive peptide into the polycaprolactone (PCL) backbone to fabricate solid scaffolds that degrade in the presence of collagenase or proteases secreted by cells. The protease-sensitive peptide sequence was identified using a functional proteomics approach developed by the Pashuck lab to screen peptides degraded by specific cell types. This peptide-PCL conjugate platform can be adapted by changing the peptide sequence or polyester type to create ‘smart’ biomaterials that degrade via cell-mediated processes.
This preprint is the result of an exciting collaboration with the Pashuck Lab at Lehigh and Grayson Lab at Johns Hopkins University that started from an informal chat at BMES years ago. Dr. Sami Singh (now a postdoc at Johns Hopkins in the JEFworks Lab) and Kelly Seims (now a Senior Associate Scientist at Regeneron) initiated the project and laid the foundation for Natasha Hunt (now a PhD student at UCSF/UC Berkeley in the Hernandez Lab) to design the first generation of peptide-PCL conjugates. Korina was able to fine-tune the conjugate design and strategies to quantify scaffold degradation over time. A true team effort that was years in the making!