| abstract |
An immune-modulating biomaterial comprising a hydrogel scaffold coupled to D-amino acid containing peptides having unexpected properties in vivo is described. For example, certain inflammatory reactions in vivo are significantly increased around the D-peptide containing particles of hydrogel scaffold as compared to particles that contain both L and D peptides or L peptides alone. In addition, these D-peptide compositions are further observed to enhance wound healing and improve the tensile strength of healed tissues. For these and other reasons, the D-amino acid hydrogel materials disclosed herein are useful in a number of methodologies that seek to modulate the immune response and/or wound healing. |