Title
A novel highly stable and injectable hydrogel based on a conformationally restricted ultrashort peptide
Author
Chaitanya Kumar Thota, Nitin Yadav, Virander Singh Chauhan
Year
2016
Journal
Scientific Reports
Abstract
Nanostructures including hydrogels based on peptides containing non protein amino acids are being considered as platform for drug delivery because of their inherent biocompatibility and additional proteolytic stability. Here we describe instantaneous self-assembly of a conformationally restricted dipeptide, LeuΔPhe, containing an α,β-dehydrophenylalanine residue into a highly stable and mechanically strong hydrogel, under mild physiological aqueous conditions. The gel successfully entrapped several hydrophobic and hydrophilic drug molecules and released them in a controlled manner. LeuΔPhe was highly biocompatible and easily injectable. Administration of an antineoplastic drug entrapped in the gel in tumor bearing mice significantly controlled growth of tumors. These characteristics make LeuΔPhe an attractive candidate for further development as a delivery platform for various biomedical applications.
Full Article
Instrument
J-810
Keywords
Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Tertiary structure, Thermal stability, Thermodynamics, Biochemistry