Supramolecular biomaterials: A modular approach to bioactivity

Ideal biomaterials do not only have to fulfil the biomaterials trinity of tuneable mech. properties, regulation of the degradability and the ease for bioactivity incorporation, but also have to mimic the natural environment where the materials are brought into. Therefore, a modular, self-assembly approach using several supramol. building blocks is an exquisite way to produce such -responsive' biomaterials. We recently introduced supramol. polymers based on quadruple hydrogen bonding and showed the unique properties of this new class of dynamic materials. We will show how bioactivity can be introduced in both stable and degradable biomaterials, while a new class of tuneable hydrogels based on supramol. polymers will be disclosed. [on SciFinder (R)]