| Irregular wound healing, experienced by patients suffering from underlying pathology or reoccurring ulcers, is a major concern that often requires outside aid to induce proper healing. A potential therapeutic is KTTKS, a sub-fragment of the type I collagen pro-peptide which can facilitate extracellular matrix secretion from fibroblasts. Prior studies have shown that KTTKS can upregulate TGF-? and collagen deposition, which can facilitate faster cell migration into the wound bed and decrease overall wound closure time. However, the water-soluble nature of KTTKS decreases its bioactivity at the wound site. Attachment of a vinyl functional group to KTTKS allows conjugation into the backbone of a radically polymerizable hydrogel skin mimic. This formulation is hypothesized to increase the efficiency of KTTKS compared to existing configurations which contain non-immobilized peptides. |
