树状多肽的合成及应用

树状多肽作为树枝状大分子的一种,具有不同于链状多肽的独特理化特性,在生物学领域中具有广泛的应用.本文简要综述了树状多肽的合成方法,及其在诱导免疫反应、生物分子模拟、免疫诊断试剂、人工酶、药物及基因载体等方面的应用.     

多肽分子自组装

源于自然界中广泛存在的蛋白质自组装现象,近年来多肽的自组装逐渐成为材料学和生物医学等领域的研究热点.通过合理调控多肽的分子结构以及改变外界的环境,多肽分子可以利用氢键、疏水性作用、π-π堆积作用等非共价键力自发或触发地自组装形成形态与结构特异的组装体.由于多肽自身具有良好的生物相容性和可控的降解性能,利用多肽自组装技术构建的各种功能性材料在药物控制释放、组织工程支架材料以及生物矿化等领域内有着巨大的应用前景.本文总结了近年来多肽自组装研究的进展,介绍了多肽自组装技术常见的几种结构模型,概括了多肽自组装的机理,并进一步阐述多肽自组装形成的组装体形态及其在材料学和生物医学等领域里的应用.     

多肽纳米管

环状多肽是构成多肽纳米管的主要子结构,它的结构形式和骨架分子构象直接影响多肽纳米管的特性。作为有特殊电子和光学性质的多肽纳米管,它在化学、生物、材料和医学等方面有潜在的应用。本文就自组装多肽纳米管的结构和应用作了介绍。     

多肽及蛋白质的化学合成研究

多肽与蛋白质作为生物体内的活性物质和生命活动的物质基础,在信号传递、能量利用、免疫应答等基础生理过程发挥着至关重要的作用,并与多种疾病的发生密切相关。获得一定数量高纯度的多肽和蛋白质是研究其结构、生物学功能以及开发相关药物的重要前提。天然多肽与蛋白质的来源主要有动植物的组织器官、微生物的次级代谢产物等。目前,自然提取、重组技术和化学合成是多肽与蛋白质的主要获得途径。相较于从天然产物中提取分离和基因重组表达,化学合成能够方便地在多肽与蛋白质的任意位点引入非天然氨基酸或特定类型的翻译后修饰基团,如糖基化、磷酸化、荧光团及光交联反应基团等,极大地促进了多肽与蛋白质在基础医学及生物医药研究领域的应用发展。本综述全面介绍了多肽与蛋白质的各种化学合成研究策略,并讨论了这些策略的基本原理、优缺点及应用价值,旨在为多肽及蛋白质的合成研究提供参考。     

多肽自组装技术及其在生物医学上的应用

多肽分子自组装广泛存在于自然界中。多肽具有良好的生物相容性和可调控的降解性能,并且利用多肽自组装技术,可以在分子水平上设计并调控聚集态的形状和结构,这在生物医学材料方面具有巨大的应用潜力。近年来关于多肽自组装的研究成为材料学、医学等领域中研究热点之一,并且在药物缓释载体、组织工程支架研究方面取得进展。本文介绍多肽分子自组装技术的概念,综述了多肽自组装技术在药物缓释载体材料、组织工程支架材料方面的应用。     

功能多肽在肿瘤治疗中的应用及研究进展

多肽具有生物相容性好,功能多样化,生物体内响应性高及合成修饰方法简单易行等优点,已被广泛用于构建靶向药物传递系统。以具有靶向功能和刺激响应性的多肽为基础构建的药物传递系统,能够将药物定向地运送到肿瘤区域。药物传递系统到达肿瘤组织后,在肿瘤组织特殊微环境或外源刺激下,实现药物的精准释放。这种具有特异性肿瘤靶向和刺激响应型的多肽载体可以最大程度地提高药物的抗肿瘤效果,降低药物的毒副作用。本文简要介绍了常用的靶向多肽和刺激响应型多肽,并讨论了基于功能型多肽的药物载体在肿瘤治疗方面的应用。     

多肽基金属离子传感器

多肽基金属离子传感器作为一种基于多肽序列而设计的新型传感器,越来越受到研究者的关注.多肽作为一类重要的生物小分子,具有合成方法成熟、简便、成本低,且能够以多齿配位状态与金属离子结合等优点.多肽基传感器对金属离子具有高灵敏性和高选择性,且可以通过调节多肽序列进一步优化.与其他类型传感器相比,多肽基金属离子传感器具有良好的...     

多肽酰肼法合成Nesiritide

Nesiritide是一类重要的多肽类血管扩张药物,在维持心血管和肾脏的体内平衡方面发挥着重要的作用.目前,Nesiritide的合成主要是通过基因重组表达法获得,该方法操作较为复杂且存在一定的限制.本研究运用多肽固相合成及酰肼连接策略,通过3片段连接高效合成了Nesiritide,为大批量工业化生产该类多肽药物打下基础.     

环境响应性多肽自组装研究进展

分子自组装广泛存在于自然界中,参与生物体的各项生命活动,从而确保生物体相关生理功能的实现和生化反应的有序进行.多肽自组装作为分子自组装的重要组成部分,其良好的生物相容性为构建具有重要应用价值的生物医用材料提供了新的思路.本文总结了多肽自组装过程中主要的驱动作用力;简述了多肽自组装形成的主要结构;详细介绍了自组装过程中环境变化,包括pH、温度、离子强度、特殊离子、氧化还原态以及光照等,对于环境响应性多肽自组装结构和性质的影响;并且阐述了多肽自组装生物材料的应用方向和前景,希望为该领域的进一步研究提供参考.     

多肽聚合物合成新方法及生物医学应用

多肽聚合物是以多肽为主链的合成聚合物,由于其固有的生物相容性和生物降解性,在生物医学领域展现出广阔的应用前景,然而多肽聚合物的高效、快速、简便合成仍然具有很大挑战。近年来随着合成化学的快速发展,基于α-氨基酸的N-羧基环内酸酐(NCA)开环聚合法制备多肽聚合物取得了突破性进展,合成了大量基于多肽聚合物的新型材料。本文首先介绍了NCA单体的合成机理及最新改进,然后重点介绍了近年来新发展的NCA开环聚合快速、高效制备多肽聚合物的不同引发或催化体系,最后简要介绍了多肽聚合物在抗菌剂、药物递送及组织工程等领域的应用,并提出了多肽聚合物材料在生物医学领域应用所面临的挑战。     

Effective Drug Therapies from Functional,Macromolecular Building Blocks with a Biomimetic Design

Summary: The development of suitable delivery systems for intracellular delivery of proteins, peptides and other bioactive materials opens the possibility to establish refined strategies for small drug delivery, gene delivery and vaccination. We present the assembly of advanced drug delivery systems from tailored building blocks to scaffolds and bioactive cargos to afford targeting and transport across biological barriers. In particular, the utilization of novel molecular transporter will advance the bioavailability of small and macromolecular drugs that show targeted intracellular delivery.     

Effects of acidic catalysts on the microstructure and biological property of sol–gel bioactive glass microspheres

Sol–gel bioactive glasses have been developed for bone tissue regeneration and drug delivery systems as they have the unique mesoporous structure and high bioactivity in vitro. To develop more reliable drug delivery and bone tissue repair systems, it is necessary to control the morphology and microstructure of bioactive glasses. For this purpose, bioactive glass microspheres (BGMs) were prepared by a sol–gel co-template technology using acids as catalysts. We studied the effects of different acids (citric acid, lactic acid and acetic acid) on the microstructure and apatite-forming bioactivity of BGM. The apatite-forming bioactivity was carried out in simulated body fluid (SBF). The microstructure and apatite-forming bioactivity of BGMs were characterized by various methods. Results showed that acetic acid had little effect on the structure and bioactivity of BGMs. Differently, the morphology and microstructure of BGMs could be controlled by changing citric acid and lactic acid concentrations. In vitro bioactivity test indicated that citric acid and lactic acid derived BGMs possessed the better apatite-forming capacity than that derived by acetic acid.     

Tunable growth factor delivery from injectable hydrogels for tissue engineering

Current sustained delivery strategies of protein therapeutics are limited by the fragility of the protein, resulting in minimal quantities of bioactive protein delivered. In order to achieve prolonged release of bioactive protein, an affinity-based approach was designed which exploits the specific binding of the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain with short proline-rich peptides. Specifically, methyl cellulose was modified with SH3-binding peptides (MC-peptide) with either a weak affinity or strong affinity for SH3. The release profile of SH3-rhFGF2 fusion protein from hyaluronan MC-SH3 peptide (HAMC-peptide) hydrogels was investigated and compared to unmodified controls. SH3-rhFGF2 release from HAMC-peptide was extended to 10 days using peptides with different binding affinities compared to the 48 h release from unmodified HAMC. This system is capable of delivering additional proteins with tunable rates of release, while maintaining bioactivity, and thus is broadly applicable.     

Integration of Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles and Curcumin into PHBV Microspheres as Biocompatible Composite for Drug Delivery Applications

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are being increasingly considered for biomedical applications. One convenient approach to utilize BGs in tissue engineering and drug delivery involves their combination with organic biomaterials in order to form composites with enhanced biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this work, mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGN) have been merged with polyhydroxyalkanoate microspheres with the purpose to develop drug carriers. The composite carriers (microspheres) were loaded with curcumin as a model drug. The toxicity and delivery rate of composite microspheres were tested in vitro, reaching a curcumin loading efficiency of over 90% and an improving of biocompatibility of different concentrations of MBGN due to its administrations through the composite. The composite microspheres were tested in terms of controlled release, biocompatibility and bioactivity. Our results demonstrate that the composite microspheres can be potentially used in biomedicine due to their dual effects: bioactivity (due to the presence of MBGN) and curcumin release capability.     

Nanovesicles based on self-assembly of conformationally constrained aromatic residue containing amphiphilic dipeptides

Peptide-based vesicular structures have been the focus of research in the past decade for their potential application as drug delivery agents. We here report the self-assembly of amphiphilic dipeptides containing conformation-constraining alpha,beta-dehydrophenylalanine into nanovesicles. The vesicles can encapsulate small drug molecules such as riboflavin and vitamin B(12), bioactive peptides, and small protein molecules. The nanovesicles are resistant to treatment of a nonspecific protease, proteinase K, and are stable at low concentrations of monovalent and divalent cations. The vesicles are effectively taken up by actively growing cells in culture and show no observable cytopathic effects. These peptide-based nanostructures can be considered as models for further development as delivery agents for different biomolecules.     

Recently Discovered Secondary Metabolites from Streptomyces Species

The Streptomyces genus has been a rich source of bioactive natural products, medicinal chemicals, and novel drug leads for three-quarters of a century. Yet studies suggest that the genus is capable of making some 150,000 more bioactive compounds than all Streptomyces secondary metabolites reported to date. Researchers around the world continue to explore this enormous potential using a range of strategies including modification of culture conditions, bioinformatics and genome mining, heterologous expression, and other approaches to cryptic biosynthetic gene cluster activation. Our survey of the recent literature, with a particular focus on the year 2020, brings together more than 70 novel secondary metabolites from Streptomyces species, which are discussed in this review. This diverse array includes cyclic and linear peptides, peptide derivatives, polyketides, terpenoids, polyaromatics, macrocycles, and furans, the isolation, chemical structures, and bioactivity of which are appraised. The discovery of these many different compounds demonstrates the continued potential of Streptomyces as a source of new and interesting natural products and contributes further important pieces to the mostly unfinished puzzle of Earth’s myriad microbes and their multifaceted chemical output.     

The concept of functional peptidomics for the discovery of bioactive peptides in cell culture models

Detection and purification of novel bioactive peptides from biological sources is a scientific task that led to a substantial number of important discoveries. One major laborious approach used is the repetitive stepwise separation of the test sample into several fractions followed by the determination of their bioactivity, until purity allows for sequence identification. We tested whether functional peptidomics, a combination of biological read-outs with differential peptide display (DPD) is a suitable strategy to isolate bioactive peptides at lower workload and with improved success. Additionally, we evaluated the use of DPD to monitor the processing status of proinsulin by inhibition of the insulin processing pathway. The rat insulinoma cell line INS-1 stimulated either with 2 mmol/l or 10 mmol/l glucose was used as model to generate differential peptide displays. In parallel, the bioactivity of the supernatants from the INS-1 cells was measured by glucose uptake and lipolysis assays using the adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1. We were able to quickly and elegantly trace the known activity of insulin to increase glucose uptake and inhibit lipolysis. Following re-chromatography of selected fractions, relevant peptides were identified by DPD and bioassays: the rat insulin-1 precursor and two different insulin peptides. We demonstrated in a semi-quantitative fashion that inhibition of proinsulin processing leads to accumulation of the insulin precursor, and reduced secretion of insulin-1. Thus, we conclude that DPD is an attractive support technology in peptide purification strategies aiming to identify bioactive compounds, and is superior to ELISA in discriminating between the processing status of insulin and its precursor.     

Application of Dendrimers in Anticancer Diagnostics and Therapy

The application of dendrimeric constructs in medical diagnostics and therapeutics is increasing. Dendrimers have attracted attention due to their compact, spherical three-dimensional structures with surfaces that can be modified by the attachment of various drugs, hydrophilic or hydrophobic groups, or reporter molecules. In the literature, many modified dendrimer systems with various applications have been reported, including drug and gene delivery systems, biosensors, bioimaging contrast agents, tissue engineering, and therapeutic agents. Dendrimers are used for the delivery of macromolecules, miRNAs, siRNAs, and many other various biomedical applications, and they are ideal carriers for bioactive molecules. In addition, the conjugation of dendrimers with antibodies, proteins, and peptides allows for the design of vaccines with highly specific and predictable properties, and the role of dendrimers as carrier systems for vaccine antigens is increasing. In this work, we will focus on a review of the use of dendrimers in cancer diagnostics and therapy. Dendrimer-based nanosystems for drug delivery are commonly based on polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM) that can be modified with drugs and contrast agents. Moreover, dendrimers can be successfully used as conjugates that deliver several substances simultaneously. The potential to develop dendrimers with multifunctional abilities has served as an impetus for the design of new molecular platforms for medical diagnostics and therapeutics.     

Synthesis and characterization of europium-containing luminescent bioactive glasses and evaluation of in vitro bioactivity and cytotoxicity

Luminescent europium-containing bioactive glasses (EuBG) based on the 58 %SiO₂–33 %CaO–9 %P₂O₅ (in mass, %) system were synthesized using sol–gel technique by adding Eu₂O₃ in silica network. The structural, textural and optical properties, as well as in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of the material were characterized using various methods. The results show that all the Eu-containing bioactive glass materials exhibit an amorphous structure, large specific surface area, relatively uniform pore size distribution and high in vitro bioactivity, similar to the conventional sol–gel bioactive glass. More importantly, the addition of Eu₂O₃ endow the material with a luminescent property even after immersion in aqueous solution and the luminescent intensity increases with the increase of Eu₂O₃ content. The cytotoxicity assay indicates that pure EuBG extract significantly inhibit the growth of rat marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs), while 25 % concentration of the extract diluted by culture medium could significantly improve the proliferation of rMSCs in comparison with pure medium. According to the above results, the material presents excellent apatite-forming activity, luminescent property and biocompatibility, demonstrating their potential applications in the fields of bone regeneration and drug delivery system.