Supramolecular ultra-short carboxybenzyl-protected dehydropeptide-based hydrogels for drug delivery

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Veloso, SRS (Author) Other; Jervis, PJ (Author) Other; Silva, JFG (Author) Other; Hilliou, L (Author) Other; Moura, C (Author) Other; David M Pereira (Author) FFUP; Coutinho, PJG (Author) Other; Martins, JA (Author) Other; Castanheira, EMS (Author) Other; Ferreira, PMT (Author) Other

Journal

Title: MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Vol. 122

ISSN: 0928-4931

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 4 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-CGD

DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2021.111869

Abstract (EN): Self-assembled peptide-based hydrogels are promising materials for biomedical research owing to biocompatibility and similarity to the extracellular matrix, amenable synthesis and functionalization and structural tailoring of the rheological properties. Wider developments of self-assembled peptide-based hydrogels in biomedical research and clinical translation are hampered by limited commercial availability allied to prohibitive costs. In this work a focused library of Cbz-protected dehydrodipeptides Cbz-L-Xaa-Z-Delta Phe-OH (Xaa= Met, Phe, Tyr, Ala, Gly) was synthesised and evaluated as minimalist hydrogels. The Cbz-L-Met-Z-Delta Phe-OH and Cbz-L-Phe-Z Delta Phe-OH hydrogelators were comprehensively evaluated regarding molecular aggregation and self-assembly, gelation, biocompatibility and as drug carriers for delivery of the natural compound curcumin and the clinically important antitumor drug doxorubicin. Drug release profiles and FRET studies of drug transport into small unilamellar vesicles (as biomembrane models) demonstrated that the Cbz-protected dehydropeptide hydrogels are effective nanocarriers for drug delivery. The expedite and scalable synthesis (in 3 steps), using commercially available reagents and amenable reaction conditions, makes Cbz-protected dehydrodipeptide hydrogels, widely available at affordable cost to the research community.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14