Divergent Supramolecular Gelation of Backbone Modified Short Hybrid δ-Peptides

Biomacromolecules. 2019 Mar 11;20(3):1254-1262. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b01684. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Abstract

The ordered supramolecular assemblies of short peptides have been recently gaining momentum due to their widespread applications in biology and materials sciences. In contrast to the α-peptides, limited success has been achieved from the backbone modified peptides. The proteolytic stability and conformational flexibility of the backbone modified peptides composed of β-, γ-, and δ-amino acids can be explored to design ordered supramolecular gels and self-assembled materials. In this article, we are reporting the divergent supramolecular gels from a new class of short hybrid dipeptides composed of conformationally flexible new β(O)-δ5-amino acids. The hybrid dipeptide composed of β3- and β(O)-δ5-Phe showed the formation of transparent gels from the aromatic solvents, while the dipeptide composed of β(O)-δ5-Phe showed the thixotropic gel in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In contrast, no organic or hydrogels were observed from the dipeptides composed of alternating α- and β(O)-δ5-Phe as well as γ4 and β(O)-δ5-Phe. The organogelation property displayed by the β3,β(O)-δ5-Phe dipeptide was further explored to recover the oil spills from the oil-water mixture. The thixotropic hydrogels displayed by the β(O)-δ5, β(O)-δ5-Phe dipeptide was further utilized as matrix along with cell culture medium to grow the cells in 2D-cell culture. Replacing the backbone -CH2- with "O" in the δ-Phe leads to the drastic change in the supramolecular behavior of δ-peptides. Overall, the short dipeptides from different backbone modified amino acids showed the divergent gelation properties and these properties can be further explored to design new functional biomaterials.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hydrogels / chemistry*
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Proteolysis

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Peptides