Figure 2.

Major types of self-assembled nanomaterials used in wound healing studies. (a) The ionic self-complementary peptides form stable β-strand and β-sheet structures, which undergo self-assembly to form nanofibers. These nanofibers form interwoven matrices that further form a scaffold hydrogel with very high water content. Adapted from Ref.¹³. (b) Peptide-amphiphiles contain four distinct engineered regions. Hydrophobic tails help cylindrical micelle assembly. The stabilization domain is often a β-sheet forming sequence of amino acids. The polar domain aids in solubility. A bioactive domain can be included to aid in cell adhesion, degradation, or growth factor presentation. Adapted from Ref.¹². (c) ELP exists as monomers below a transition temperature and undergoes nanoparticle formation above the transition temperature. Reprinted from Ref.⁴¹ with permission from Elsevier. (d) CEW was used to prepare the gold nanoparticles as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The MMT self-assemble on the surface of nanoparticles resulting in Au@CEW/MMT as an effective antibacterial agent. Adapted from Ref.⁴³ CEW, chicken egg white; ELP, elastin-like polypeptide; MMT, 2-mercapto-methylimidazole.