超分子多肽自组装在生物医学中的应用

近年来,自组装多肽纳米技术因其可形成规则有序的结构、具有多样的功能而备受关注。研究发现自组装多肽能在特定的条件下形成具有确定结构的聚集体,这种聚集体具备生物相容性好、稳定性高等优点,表现出不同于单体多肽分子的特性和优势,因此其在药物传递、组织工程、抗菌等领域具有良好的应用前景。文中介绍了自组装多肽形成的分子机理、类型、影响因素,综述了自组装多肽形成的纤维肽基水凝胶与自组装抗菌肽的最新进展,并提出目前多肽自组装技术所存在的问题及展望。     

功能化自组装肽水凝胶在细胞培养中应用

自组装肽水凝胶是一类能够在特定的条件下利用疏水作用、静电作用、氢键、范德华力等非共价作用力来形成内部高度有序结构的多肽分子凝胶.自组装多肽凝胶具有易于设计合成、低免疫原性、低炎症反应、良好组织相容性、生物利用度高等特点,可为各种细胞提供近似于天然的细胞外基质,促进细胞增殖、分化、黏附等细胞生物学行为.因此,自组装肽水凝...     

功能核酸DNA水凝胶的制备与组装

功能核酸DNA水凝胶是一种以DNA为构建单元通过化学反应或物理缠结自组装而成的新型柔性材料,其构建单元中包含1种或多种能够形成功能核酸的特定序列。功能核酸是通过碱基修饰和DNA分子之间的相互作用力组合的一类特定核酸结构,包括核酸适配体、DNA核酶、G-四联体(G-quadruplex,G4)和i-motif结构等。传统上,高浓度的长DNA链是制备DNA水凝胶的必要条件,而核酸扩增方法的引入为DNA水凝胶的组装方式提供了新的可能。因此,对常用于制备DNA水凝胶的多种功能核酸以及核酸的提取、合成和扩增手段进行了详细的介绍。在此基础上,综述了通过化学或物理交联方式组装功能核酸DNA水凝胶的制备方法。最后,提出了DNA纳米材料的组装所面临的挑战和潜在的发展方向,以期为开发高效组装的功能核酸DNA水凝胶提供参考。     

综述——纳米材料与药物输递：聚乙二醇/聚己内酯嵌段共聚物温敏水凝胶及其在局部药物递送中的应用

近年来,温敏水凝胶被广泛用于药物递送、组织工程等生物医用领域．其中,由聚乙二醇与脂肪族可降解聚酯合成的两亲性聚合物的自组装胶束形成的温敏水凝胶是一种重要的温敏凝胶材料．本文针对聚乙二醇(PEG)与聚己内酯(PCL)形成的两亲性嵌段聚合物温敏水凝胶体系,综述了聚合物分子质量、嵌段序列结构,亲疏水段分子质量与比例、疏水段化学结构等因素对温敏行为的影响,以及该温敏水凝胶在局部药物递送方面的研究进展．     

酶响应型肽水凝胶及应用研究进展

酶响应型肽水凝胶可用于缓控释药物的释放,并具有抗菌、抗肿瘤等作用,是目前材料领域新兴的的研究热点之一.本文总结了近年来国内外开发的酶响应型肽水凝胶材料,重点介绍了包括谷氨酰胺转氨酶、激酶、磷酸酶、赖氨酸氧化酶(血浆氨氧化酶)、蛋白酶、酯酶、β内酰胺酶、基质金属蛋白酶等酶响应型肽水凝胶,以及在酶的催化作用下,水凝胶的形成、破坏或动态转换,同时总结了它们的响应机理.此外,介绍了酶响应型肽水凝胶的应用.酶响应型肽水凝胶具有广阔的发展前景,是未来智能响应材料的发展方向之一.     

促细胞黏附生长的自组装肽水凝胶

随着细胞与组织工程的迅猛发展,能够促进细胞黏附、生长和分化的生物材料基质支架的研究日益重要。具有生物相容性且含水量超过99％的自组装肽水凝胶因其很好地符合理想的生物材料基质支架标准而备受重视。这类自我互补的两亲寡肽含50％的带电残基,并且以交替的离子亲水性和不带电的氨基酸残基周期性重复为特征;在其寡肽的氨基末端可用直接固相合成法修饰几个短序列生物活性模体进行功能化,用以促进不同细胞的黏附生长和靶向定位。现对自组装肽水凝胶的结构特征、自组装机制、对细胞黏附生长的影响以及未来自组装肽生物材料设计的目标进行综述．     

刺激响应型DNA水凝胶的性质及其应用 *

DNA水凝胶作为一种生物合成分子,既具有DNA分子的特异性,生物可降解性和分子识别等特性,又具有水凝胶的高亲水性等特征.刺激响应型DNA水凝胶主要是在环境因素的刺激下,利用常规DNA序列经Watson-Crick碱基互补配对形成的DNA分支结构或多种功能核酸的特殊DNA序列形成的i-motif结构;T-A·T三螺旋结构,C-G·C ⁺三螺旋结构及G-四链体结构等对环境的响应行为使水凝胶形成及应用.近年来,刺激响应型DNA水凝胶因其在温度,pH,光,金属离子,生物分子等单刺激因素,以及光热,金属离子,有机物,温度与pH等多刺激因素下的独特应答性质,在生物传感,生物成像,药物递送,生物材料等方面得到了广泛的应用.综述了刺激响应型DNA水凝胶的形成方法,分类及其核酸来源,形成后的表征手段以及在环境刺激下的响应行为与应用,概括了目前刺激响应型DNA水凝胶的研究热点,并就其未来发展趋势做出了预测.     

DNA水凝胶的制备及应用

脱氧核糖核酸(Deoxyribonucleic acid,DNA)不仅可作为生物遗传的物质基础,又以其可编程性、功能多样性、生物相容性和生物可降解性等优点,在生物材料的构建方面表现出巨大的潜力。DNA水凝胶是一种主要由DNA参与形成的三维网状聚合物材料,同时因其保留的DNA生物性能与自身骨架的机械性能的完美融合使得它成为近年来最受关注的新兴功能高分子材料之一。目前,基于各种功能核酸序列或通过结合不同的功能材料制备的单组分或多组分DNA水凝胶,已广泛用于生物医学、分子检测及环境保护的研究或应用领域中。文中主要总结了近十几年来DNA水凝胶制备方法上的研究进展,探讨了DNA水凝胶的分类策略,并进一步综述了DNA水凝胶在药物运输、生物传感、细胞培养等方面的应用研究。最后对DNA水凝胶未来的发展方向以及可能面临的挑战进行了展望。     

DNA水凝胶应用于环境样品快速检测的研究进展

DNA作为生物大分子既可以引导生物发育和生命机能活动,也可以被用作构筑纳米生物材料。DNA水凝胶可以制备成兼具DNA生物功能和水凝胶特质,应用于环境样品的分析检测。依据制备DNA水凝胶长链的方法,对比分析了聚合酶链反应、杂交链式反应、滚环扩增技术的制备,物理水凝胶和化学水凝胶的合成过程和改性方法技术特点;并结合环境样品浓度检测的变性响应特点,分析了荧光、比色、电化学法分析检测的技术要点和检测性能,与大型仪器分析方法相比该方法具有检出限低、检出范围广、检测时间快、测样成本偏低等特点,是一种方便快捷、应用前景广泛的方法;最后对其检出性能和经济性进行评估,并对其应用前景进行总结和展望。     

功能核酸DNA水凝胶的理化特性及应用进展

自DNA被开发为纳米级的自组装材料以来,凭借其可调节的多功能性、便利的可编程性、精确的分子识别能力、高通用性以及优越的生物相容性和生物降解性连接了生命科学和材料科学两大领域。受益于DNA纳米材料的结构特性,以功能核酸作为构建单元,经交联、自组装形成的功能核酸DNA水凝胶已成为新型材料领域的研究热点。基于此,对功能核酸DNA水凝胶所具有的主要理化特性进行了总结,并进一步综述了近年来功能核酸DNA水凝胶在药物递送与靶向治疗、生物传感、三维组织构建等生物医学、分子检测及环境工程等领域中的应用进展。最后,从生命科学和材料科学的角度总结了在设计与搭建功能核酸DNA水凝胶时应考虑的关键点和方向,以期助力DNA水凝胶在多学科领域的研究与应用。     

Supramolecular gelation of a polymeric prodrug for its encapsulation and sustained release

A polymeric prodrug, PEGylated indomethacin (MPEG-indo), was prepared and then used to interact with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) in their aqueous mixed system. This process could lead to the formation of supramolecular hydrogel under mild conditions and simultaneous encapsulation of MPEG-indo in the hydrogel matrix. For the formed supramolecular hydrogel, its gelation kinetics, mechanical strength, shear-thinning behavior and thixotropic response were investigated with respect to the effects of MPEG-indo and α-CD amounts by dynamic and steady rheological tests. Meanwhile, the possibility of using this hydrogel matrix as injectable drug delivery system was also explored. By in vitro release and cell viability tests, it was found that the encapsulated MPEG-indo could exhibit a controlled and sustained release behavior as well as maintain its biological activity.     

Injectable Supramolecular Hydrogel from Insulin-Loaded Triblock PCL-PEG-PCL Copolymer and γ-Cyclodextrin with Sustained-Release Property

Supramolecular hydrogels formed by cyclodextrins and polymers have been widely investigated as a biocompatible, biodegradable and controllable drug delivery system. In this study, a supramolecular hydrogel based on biodegradable poly(caprolactone)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL) triblock copolymers and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) was prepared through inclusion complexation as an injectable, sustained-release vehicle for insulin. The triblock copolymer PCL-PEG-PCL was synthesised by the ring-opening polymerisation method, using microwave irradiation. The polymerisation reaction and the copolymer structures were evaluated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The supramolecular hydrogel was prepared in aqueous solution by blending an aqueous γ-CD solution with an aqueous solution of PCL-PEG-PCL triblock copolymer at room temperature. In vitro insulin release through the hydrogel system was studied. The relative surface hydrophobicity of standard and released insulin from the SMGel was estimated using 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANS). Results of ¹HNMR and gel permeation chromatography revealed that microwave irradiation is a simple and reliable method for synthesis of PCL-PEG-PCL copolymer. Gelation occurred within a minute. The supramolecular hydrogel obtained by mixing 10.54% (w/v) γ-CD and 2.5% (w/v) copolymer had an excellent syringeability. Insulin was released up to 80% over a period of 20 days. Insulin kept its initial folding after formulating and releasing from SMGel. A supramolecular hydrogel based on complexation of triblock PCL-PEG-PCL copolymer with γ-cyclodextrin is a suitable system for providing sustained release of therapeutic proteins, with desirable flow behaviour.Key words: insulin, PCL-PEG-PCL, supramolecular hydrogel, triblock copolymer, γ-CD     

Glutathione-Triggered Formation of a Fmoc-Protected Short Peptide-Based Supramolecular Hydrogel

A biocompatible method of glutathione (GSH) catalyzed disulfide bond reduction was used to form Fmoc-short peptide-based supramolecular hydrogels. The hydrogels could form in both buffer solution and cell culture medium containing 10% of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) within minutes. The hydrogel was characterized by rheology, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence emission spectra. Their potential in three dimensional (3D) cell culture was evaluated and the results indicated that the gel with a low concentration of the peptide (0.1 wt%) was suitable for 3D cell culture of 3T3 cells. This study provides an alternative candidate of supramolecular hydrogel for 3D cell culture and cell delivery.     

Hydrogels obtained from an original catanionic system for efficient formulation of boron wood-preservatives

A new catanionic system associating amphiphilic carnosine (βAlaHisC8) and lauric acid forms supramolecular hydrogel at a very low concentration. This gel was investigated and we checked the validity of the concept of hydrogel utilization to reduce boron leachability and to develop new wood protection treatments. Impregnation with 5% aqueous borax solution (w/w) and 0.3% gelator agent (w/w) fosters improvement in the resistance of Scots pine sapwood subjected to water leaching toward the brown-rot fungus Poria placenta, while samples treated with 5% aqueous borax solution were partially degraded by the fungus. These results clearly indicate the effectiveness of hydrogel to retain boron in wood.     

Supramolecular Polymeric Hydrogels for Ultrasound‐Guided Protein Release

An ultrasound‐responsive carrier for protein drugs is promising for site‐specific release of proteins at disease sites in a designated time course because ultrasound readily penetrates deep into the interior of the body in a non‐invasive way. However, the guideline for designing ultrasound‐responsive carriers that are applicable to any protein remains to be established. Here, the aim is to develop an ultrasound‐responsive material for the controlled release of a variety of proteins regardless of their charge and structure. The supramolecular polymeric hydrogel crosslinked with a host–guest interaction of β‐cyclodextrin and adamantane can enclose two kinds of model proteins and site‐specifically and stepwisely release them in an ultrasound‐guided manner without losing their activities. Furthermore, ultrasound‐guided protein delivery to living cells is achieved on model tissue consisting of cells and extracellular matrix. The results of this study provide the proof of principle that the supramolecular polymeric hydrogel is applicable as the core carrier material in an ultrasound‐guided protein delivery system.     

Preparation of polysaccharide supramolecular films by vine-twining polymerization approach

In this study, we investigated the preparation of polysaccharide supramolecular films through the formation of inclusion complexes by amylose in vine-twining polymerization using carboxymethyl cellulose-graft-poly(?-caprolactone) (CMC-g-PCL) as a new guest polymer. First, hydrogels were prepared by phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization in the presence of CMC-g-PCL according to the vine-twining polymerization manner. The XRD result of a powdered sample obtained by lyophilization of the resulting hydrogel indicated the presence of inclusion complexes of amylose with the PCL graft-chains between intermolecular (CMC-g-PCL)s, which acted as supramolecular cross-linking points for the hydrogelation. Then, the supramolecular films were obtained by adding water to the powdered samples, followed by drying. The mechanical properties of the selected films examined by tensile testing were superior to those of a CMC film. The effect of the supramolecular cross-linking structures on the mechanical properties of the films was evaluated further by several investigations.     

Supramolecular hydrogels formed from biodegradable ternary COS-g-PCL-b-MPEG copolymer with α-cyclodextrin and their drug release

On the basis of the synthesis of novel biodegradable amphiphilic MPEG-b-PCL-grafted chitooligosaccharide (COS-g-PCL-b-MPEG) copolymers, supramolecular hydrogels were fabricated rapidly via their inclusion complexation with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) in aqueous solutions. The graft copolymers were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and fluorescence measurement, and the supramolecular structure of the resultant hydrogels was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. Rheological studies of as-obtained hydrogels indicate that the physical properties could be modulated by controlling the concentration and the graft content of the graft copolymers as well as the molar feed ratio of the graft to α-CD. The in vitro release kinetics studies of bovine serum albumin (BSA) entrapped in the hydrogels show that the drug release profiles are dependent on the supramolecular hydrogel compositions.     

A saccharide-based supramolecular hydrogel for cell culture

It is well known that the saccharides forming the intricate sugar coat that surrounds the cells play important biological roles in intercellular communication and cell differentiation. Therefore, it is worthwhile developing saccharide-based hydrogels for cell culture study. In this study, three novel saccharide-based compounds were designed and synthesized. It was found that one of them could form hydrogels efficiently, while the other two precipitated from water. The stability of the resulting hydrogel was tested, and the supramolecular nanofiber with fiber diameters in the range of 80–300 nm was characterized as the structural element by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fluorescence microscopy revealed that extensive hydrogen bonds between sugar rings assisted the formation of efficient π–π stacking between aromatic naphthalene groups, thus resulting in the formation of a stable hydrogel in aqueous solution. When the gel was applied for mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH 3T3), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), AD293 and HeLa cells culture in two dimensional environments, all of them showed a very good adhesion and good proliferation rate on the top of the hydrogel. These results indicates that the biocompatible hydrogel reported here has a potential to be developed into useful materials for in vitro cell culture, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.     

Hydrogels Composed of Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes with PLGA-PEG-PLGA Triblock Copolymers as Drug Delivery Systems

Although conventional pharmaceuticals have many drug dosage forms on the market, the development of new therapeutic molecules and the low efficacy of instant release formulations for the treatment of some chronic diseases and specific conditions encourage scientists to invent different delivery systems. To this purpose, a supramolecular hydrogel consisting of the tri-block copolymer PLGA-PEG-PLGA and α-cyclodextrin was fabricated for the first time and characterised in terms of rheological, morphological, and structural properties. Naltrexone hydrochloride and vitamin B12 were loaded, and their release profiles were determined.     

A new strategy for the preparation of supramolecular neutral hydrogels

This paper demonstrates that miscible blends from water-insoluble polymers, such as poly(2,4,4-trimethylhexamethylene terephthalamide) (1), methylamine imidized poly(methyl methacrylate) (2), and aromatic poly(ether sulfone) (3) and water-soluble polymers, such as poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (4) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (5), respectively, represent a new class of supramolecular hydrogels. When the degree of polymerization (DP) of the water-soluble polymer is larger than that of water-insoluble polymer, the resulting hydrogels adsorb extremely high amounts of water (i.e., 229 wt % in the case of the hydrogel 1/4) and remain mechanically tough. The high water uptake capability of these blends is explained by a supramolecular network structure generated by H-bonding and/or other noncovalent interactions between the water-insoluble hydrophobic polymer and water-soluble hydrophilic segments as reversible cross-linking points interconnected by hydrophilic water soluble segments. The glass transition temperatures of these hydrogels are tailored via the ratio between the weight percent of the two polymers and by the glass transition temperature of the parent polymers. These supramolecular hydrogels can be processed from melt or solution and maintain excellent mechanical properties both in dry and in the water swollen state. This class of hydrogels is of interest for areas such as membranes, contact lenses, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications.