Self assembly of GAG-Functionalised Peptides into Proteoglycan-Like Molecules for Tissue Engineering

组织工程涉及人体内病变或退行性组织的替换、修复和再生。目前，用羟基磷灰石制成的支架用于替代骨，胶原制成的支架通常用于替代软组织。这些小分子可能具有化学活性，可以刺激适当的细胞生长。许多软组织还含有糖胺多聚糖(GAG)等分子，这些分子是亲水分子或结合分子。这些分子可能与蛋白质相连，形成蛋白多糖，蛋白多糖经常起到润滑界面和促进相对组织运动的作用。它们还被证明具有重要的生物功能。多肽是由氨基酸组成的小分子链，可以合成形成长链和复杂结构的自组装多肽，从而模仿胶原蛋白分子。这一推测性研究项目的目的是探索将Gag与自组装肽联系起来的可能性，使它们的行为像蛋白多糖一样，并研究Gag功能化多肽的自组装。

Tissue engineering involves the replacement, repair and regeneration of diseased or degenerative tissues in the human body. Currently scaffolds made of hydroxyapatite are used to replace bone, and scaffolds made of collagen are commonly used to replace soft tissues. These scafolds may be chemically active to encourge appropriate cell growth. Many soft tissues also contain molecules such known as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which are water liking or binding molecules. These molecules may be linked to proteins to form proteoglycans which often act to lubricate interfaces and facilitate relative tissue movements. They have also been shown to fulfil important biological functions. Peptides are small chains of amino acids which can be synthesised to form self-assembling peptides which form long chains and complex structures which can mimic collagen-like molecules. The aims of this speculative research project are to explore the potential for linking GAGs to self-assembling peptides, to make them behave like proteoglycans and study the self-assembly of GAG-functionalised peptides