Improving and fine-tuning the properties of peptide-based hydrogels via incorporation of peptide nucleic acids

Abstract

Peptide self-assemblies have attracted intense research interests in the last decades thanks to their implications in key biological processes (e.g., amyloid formation) and for their use in the biotechnological and...

Emerging low-molecular weight nucleopeptide-based hydrogels: state of the art, applications, challenges and perspectives

“…5D). 89 Working under controlled conditions in the presence of the Tris.HCl (for tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride) buffer (pH 7.4) and at 15 mM of nucleopeptide, we first showed that the mechanical properties of the hydrogels can be finely tuned depending on the nature of the nucleobase. Indeed, while the presence of a pyrimidine ( i.e.…”

“…5D). 89 Working under controlled conditions in the presence of the Tris.HCl (for tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride) buffer ( pH 7.4) and at 15 mM of nucleopeptide, we first showed that the mechanical properties of the hydrogels can be finely tuned depending on the nature of the nucleobase. Indeed, while the presence of a pyrimidine (i.e., cytosine or thymine) leads to close storage moduli compared to the unmodified octapeptide (G′ ∼ 300 Pa), purines drastically improve the stiffness with an increase of circa 20-fold (G′ = 6.5 kPa) and 70-fold (G′ = 21.6 kPa) for adenine and guanine, respectively.…”

Diphenylalanine Motif Drives Self‐Assembling in Hybrid PNA‐Peptide Conjugates

“…Self‐assembly of PNA‐based (PNA=peptide nucleic acid) molecules is the object of many recent investigations, due to the potential applications of these compounds in nanotechnology. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ] PNA assemblies exhibit photoluminescence properties and morphologies that can be tuned by changing the base composition and covalently linking hydrophobic or aromatic moieties to the PNA chain to promote formation of supramolecular structures. Guanine‐containing sequences received particular attention; this base, in fact, can form three Watson‐Crick hydrogen bonds that are important for the stabilization of the aggregates.…”

From Prebiotic Chemistry to Supramolecular Biomedical Materials: Exploring the Properties of Self-Assembling Nucleobase-Containing Peptides

“…Self-assembling nucleopeptides can form hydrogels based on supramolecular structures held by non-covalent molecular interactions occurring between the peptide segments, as well as π-π stacking and Watson-Crick interactions via complementary DNA bases. The ability of nucleopeptides and PNA to form highly ordered architectures has been recently exploited by the scientific community to develop controlled supramolecular tools such as nanotubes, nanovesicles, nanofibers, nanospheres, or micelles (e.g., spherical, cylindrical or worm-like), with applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology or materials science thanks to their biocompatibility and biodegradability (Figure 7) [107][108][109].…”

“…Self-assembling nucleopeptides can form hydrogels based on supramolecular structures held by noncovalent molecular interactions occurring between the peptide segments, as well as π-π stacking and Watson-Crick interactions via complementary DNA bases. The ability of nucleopeptides and PNA to form highly ordered architectures has been recently exploited by the scientific community to develop controlled supramolecular tools such as nanotubes, nanovesicles, nanofibers, nanospheres, or micelles (e.g., spherical, cylindrical or worm-like), with applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology or materials science thanks to their biocompatibility and biodegradability (Figure 7) [107][108][109]. For example, taking advantage of non-covalent interactions occurring between nucleic acids and nucleopeptides, it was possible to realize nucleopeptide-based supramolecular assemblies for gene release and therapy, able to selectively sequester ATP in cancer cells (Figure 7) increasing the efficacy of anticancer drugs [110], endowed with several unique benefits, i.e., i) reversible interactions between assemblies and nucleic For example, taking advantage of non-covalent interactions occurring between nucleic acids and nucleopeptides, it was possible to realize nucleopeptide-based supramolecular assemblies for gene release and therapy, able to selectively sequester ATP in cancer cells (Figure 7) increasing the efficacy of anticancer drugs [110], endowed with several unique benefits, i.e., i) reversible interactions between assemblies and nucleic acids, ii) minimal immunogenicity, and iii) biocompatibility.…”