Biomimetic triumvirate nanogel complexes via peptide-polysaccharide-polyphenol self-assembly

Min-Rui Tai; Hong-Wu Ji; Jian-Ping Chen; Xiao-Fei Liu; Bing-Bing Song; Sai-Yi Zhong; Aaqil Rifai; David R Nisbet; Colin J Barrow; Richard J Williams; Rui Li

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126232

Biomimetic triumvirate nanogel complexes via peptide-polysaccharide-polyphenol self-assembly

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Aug 8:251:126232. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126232. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Marine Biological Products, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Marine Food, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Product of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Center for Subtropical Fruit and Vegetable Processing, Zhanjiang 524008, China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Marine Biological Products, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Marine Food, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Product of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Center for Subtropical Fruit and Vegetable Processing, Zhanjiang 524008, China. Electronic address: zhongsy@gdou.edu.cn.
³ Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3217, Australia; IMPACT, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3217, Australia; The Graeme Clark Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ The Graeme Clark Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3217, Australia.
⁶ College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Marine Biological Products, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Marine Food, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Product of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Center for Subtropical Fruit and Vegetable Processing, Zhanjiang 524008, China. Electronic address: lirui@gdou.edu.cn.

PMID: 37562478
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126232

Abstract

Self-assembled peptide and polysaccharide nanogels are excellent candidates for bioactive delivery vectors. However, there are still significant challenges in the application of nanogels as delivery tools for bioactive elements. This study aims to deliver, and control the release of a hydrophobic bioactive flavonoid hesperidin. Using the self-assembling peptide (SAP) Fmoc-FRGDF, extracellular matrix mimicking nanofibrils were fabricated, which were decorated and bolstered with immunomodulatory polysaccharide strands of fucoidan and infused with hesperidin. The mechanical properties, secondary structure, and microscopic morphologies of the composite hydrogels were characterized using rheometer, FTIR, XRD, and TEM, etc. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) and release behavior of hesperidin were determined. Coassembly of the SAP with fucoidan improved the mechanical properties (from 9.54 Pa of Fmoc-FRGDF hydrogel to 7735 Pa of coassembly hydrogel at 6 mg/mL fucoidan concentration), formed thicker nanofibril bundles at 4 and 6 mg/mL fucoidan concentration, improved the EE of hesperidin from 72.86 % of Fmoc-FRGDF hydrogel to over 90 % of coassembly hydrogels, and showed effectively controlled release of hesperidin in vitro. Intriguingly, the first order kinetic model predicted an enhanced hydrogel retention and release of hesperidin. This study revealed a new approach for bioengineered nanogels that could be used to stabilize and release hydrophobic payloads.

Keywords: Fucoidan; Hesperidin; In vitro release; Nanogel; Self-assembling peptides.