Fig. 4

Cleavage of peptide sensors consisting of microparticle, PCL, and carboxyfluorescein. a Cleavage (%) of the sensor by MMP-1 n = 5, MMP-8 n = 11, and MMP-9 n = 5. The PCL in the sensor was most sensitive to MMP-1 and to a lesser extent to MMP-8, which in return cleaved the sensor better than MMP-9. Statistical differences among means were assessed by pairwise comparison using a t-test and indicated by asterisks (p < 0.05). Box-and-whisker plots show the median (solid line) and mean (dotted line) and whiskers indicate the upper and lower 25%, respectively. b Sensor cleavage (%) as a function of MMP-8 concentration (incubation for 60 min) n = 7 and c over time at a concentration of 900 ng/mL n = 9. All data are presented as mean ± s.d. and each experiment was repeated at least once