Amyloid-based Albumin Hydrogels.

Amyloid fibrils may serve as building blocks for the preparation of novel hydrogel materials from abundant, low cost and biocompatible polypeptides. Here, we present the formation of physically cross-linked, self-healing hydrogels based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) at room temperature through a straightforward disulfide reduction step induced by tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP). The structure and surface charge of the amyloid-like fibrils was determined by the pH of the solution during self-assembly, giving rise to hydrogels with distinct physicochemical properties. The hydrogel surface could be readily functionalized with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin and supported cell adhesion, spreading and long-term culture. This study offers a simple, versatile and inexpensive method to prepare amyloid-based albumin hydrogels with potential applications in the biomedical field. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.