Abstract：
Hydrogels derived from fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-conjugated amino acids and peptides demonstrate remarkable potential in biomedical applications, including drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and tissue engineering. These hydrogels can be injectable, offering a minimally invasive approach to hydrogel implantation. Given their potential for prolonged application, there is a need for non-destructive evaluation of their properties over extended periods. Thus, we introduce a hydrogel characterization platform employing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes. Our approach involves generating supramolecular self-assembling hydrogels from aromatic Fmoc-amino acids. Integrating SWCNTs into the hydrogels maintains their structural and mechanical properties, establishing SWCNTs as optical probes for hydrogels. We demonstrate that the SWCNT NIR-fluorescence changes during the gelation process correlate to rheological changes within the hydrogels. Additionally, single particle tracking of SWCNTs incorporated in the hydrogels provides insights into differences in hydrogel morphologies. Furthermore, the disassembly process of the hydrogels can be monitored through the SWCNT fluorescence modulation. The unique attribute of SWCNTs as non-photobleaching fluorescent sensors, emitting at the biologically transparent window, offers a non-destructive method for studying hydrogel dynamics over extended periods. This platform could be applied to a wide range of self-assembling hydrogels to advance our understanding and applications of supramolecular assembly technologies.
摘要：
由芴基甲氧羰基（Fmoc）结合的氨基酸和肽衍生的水凝胶在生物医学应用中显示出巨大的潜力。包括药物输送,组织再生，和组织工程。这些水凝胶可以是可注射的，提供水凝胶植入的微创方法。鉴于其长期应用的潜力，有必要对其性能进行长期的无损评估。因此，我们介绍了采用单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）作为近红外（NIR）荧光探针的水凝胶表征平台。我们的方法涉及从芳族Fmoc-氨基酸产生超分子自组装水凝胶。将SWCNT整合到水凝胶中保持其结构和机械性能，建立SWCNT作为水凝胶的光学探针。我们证明了在凝胶化过程中SWCNTNIR荧光变化与水凝胶内的流变变化相关。此外,掺入水凝胶中的SWCNT的单颗粒追踪提供了对水凝胶形态差异的见解。此外，水凝胶的分解过程可以通过SWCNT荧光调制来监测。SWCNT作为非光漂白荧光传感器的独特属性，在生物透明的窗口发射，为长期研究水凝胶动力学提供了一种非破坏性方法。该平台可应用于广泛的自组装水凝胶，以促进我们对超分子组装技术的理解和应用。
