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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Advisor: Julie Champion, PhD (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Committee:
Andres Garcia, PhD (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Valeria Milam, PhD (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Immobilization of Adhesive Protein Domains in PEG Hydrogels
Synthetic hydrogels, most numerously poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels, offer a modular platform for biomaterials design because the bioactive ligand identity and density, as well as hydrogel stiffness, can be precisely and independently controlled. However, PEG hydrogels have seldom been used as a 3D platform for investigating differences in cell behavior when in contact with different extracellular matrix protein domains. Using recombinant protein design, expression, and characterization, this study compares cell behavior when cultured on PEG hydrogels presenting structured protein domains and minimum sequence peptides. We observe differences in cell morphology, protease production and attachment force when cultured on hydrogels with different adhesive protein domains.
