Development of Novel Hydrogels for Application in Therapeutic Delivery

This chapter will detail the beginnings and current state of NCA derived synthetic polypeptides, the role of multifunctional initiators in the development of complex star shaped polypeptide architectures and their associated properties, the synthetic approaches undertaken for the design of hydrogelating materials from the NCA ring opening polymerisation; detailing the dependence on amino acid composition and architecture; followed by a brief introduction to 3D printing and its potential relevance in the fabrication of polypeptide hydrogels.