Mesopore-dominated semi-tubular doped-carbon nanostructures derived from nanoclay templates were designed for boosting the primary Zn–air battery oxygen reduction performance.
Self-assembly peptide nanotechnology has attracted much attention due to its regular and orderly structure and diverse functions. Most of the existing self-assembly peptides can form aggregates with specific structures only under specific conditions and their assembly time is relatively long. They have good biocompatibility but no immunogenicity. To optimize it, a self-assembly peptide named DRF3 was designed. It contains a hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface, using two N-terminal arginines, leucine, and two c-terminal aspartate and glutamic acid. Meanwhile, the c-terminal of the peptide was amidated, so that peptide segments were interconnected to increase diversity. Its characterization, biocompatibility, controlled release effect on antigen, immune cell recruitment ability, and antitumor properties were examined here. Congo red/aniline blue staining revealed that peptide hydrogel DRF3 could be immediately gelled in PBS. The stable β-sheet secondary structure of DRF3 was confirmed by circular dichroism spectrum and IR spectra. The observation results of cryo-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy demonstrated that DRF3 formed nanotubule-like and vesicular structures in PBS, and these structures interlaced with each other to form ordered three-dimensional nanofiber structures. Meanwhile, DRF3 showed excellent biocompatibility, could sustainably and slowly release antigens, recruit dendritic cells and promote the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro. In addition, DRF3 has a strong inhibitory effect on clear renal cell carcinoma (786-0). These results provide a reliable basis for the application of peptide hydrogels in biomedical and preclinical trials.
Patient-derived organoid (PDO) models have been widely used in precision medicine. The inability to standardize organoid creation in pre-clinical models has become apparent. The common mouse-derived extracellular matrix can no longer meet the requirements for the establishment of PDO models. Therefore, in order to develop effective methods for 3D cultures of organoids, we designed a self-assembling peptide, namely DRF3, which can be self-assembled into ordered fibrous scaffold structures. Here, we used the co-assembly of self-assembling peptide (SAP) and collagen type I, fibronectin, and laminin (SAP-Matrix) to co-simulate the extracellular matrix, which significantly reduced the culture time of PDO, improved the culture efficiency, and increased the self-assembly ability of cells. Compared with the results from the 2D cell line, the PDO showed a more significant expression of cancer-related genes. During organoid self-assembly, the expression of cancer-related genes is increased. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of precision molecular modeling platforms in the future.
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