| The work described in this dissertation presents the synthesis and characterization of a novel multivalent conjugate of mechano-growth factor. Mechano-growth factor is a peptide derived from a splice variant of insulin-like growth factor-1 protein, which has shown promising cardioprotective effects. Multivalent conjugate technology provides a platform in which growth factors of interest are multivalently conjugated to a long, soluble polymer chain. This multivalent conjugation can result in improved pharmacokinetics and decreased degradation of the growth factor, as well as potentially increasing the bioactivity of the growth factor compared to its unconjugated form. Since the benefits of multivalent conjugate technology depend heavily upon the final valency of the conjugated growth factor, as well as the size and distribution of the multivalent conjugate molecules, it was necessary to have a characterization technique that could provide this information. This work focused on using multi-angle light scattering to thoroughly characterize the mechano-growth factor conjugates, as well as other conjugate molecules and macromolecules of interest in the field of tissue engineering. Additionally, this work focused on the development of in vitro cell-based assays for use in studying the bioactivity of the mechano-growth factor conjugates. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.). |
