Direct Synthesis of Peptide-Containing Silicones: A New Way to Bioactive Materials

Chemistry A European Journal, 26:12839-12845, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202001571

Martin J, Wehbi M, Echalier C, Hunger S, Bethry A, Garric X, Pinese C, Martinez J, Vezenkov L, Subra G, Mehdi A.

Abstract

A simple and efficient way to synthesize peptide-containing silicone materials is described. Silicone oils containing a chosen ratio of bioactive peptide sequences were prepared by acid-catalyzed copolymerization of dichlorodimethylsilane, hybrid dichloromethyl peptidosilane, and Si(vinyl)- or SiH-functionalized monomers. Functionalized silicone oils were first obtained and then, after hydrosilylation cross-linking, bioactive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based materials were straightforwardly obtained. The introduction of an antibacterial peptide yielded PDMS materials showing activity against Staphylococcus aureus. PDMS containing RGD ligands showed improved cell-adhesion properties. This generic method was fully compatible with the stability of peptides and thus opened the way to the synthesis of a wide range of biologically active silicones.