Biopolymers and supramolecular polymers as biomaterials for biomedical applications

Protein- and peptide-based structural biopolymers are abundant building blocks of biological systems. Either in their natural forms, such as collagen, silk or fibronectin, or as related synthetic materials they can be used in various technologies. An emerging area is that of biomimetic materials inspired by protein-based biopolymers, which are made up of small molecules rather than macromolecules and can therefore be described as supramolecular polymers. These materials are very useful in biomedical applications because of their ability to imitate the extracellular matrix both in architecture and their capacity to signal cells. This article describes important features of the natural extracellular matrix and highlight how these features are being incorporated into biomaterials composed of biopolymers and supramolecular polymers. We particularly focus on the structures, properties, and functions of collagen, fibronectin, silk, and the supramolecular polymers inspired by them as biomaterials for regenerative medicine.

Alginate-peptide amphiphile core-shell microparticles as a targeted drug delivery system

We describe in this work the synthesis of microparticles with a doxorubicin drug conjugated alginate core and a shell of peptide amphiphile nanofibres functionalized for targeting the folate receptor. The spherical geometry of the particle core allows high drug loading per surface area, whereas the nanoscale fibrous shell formed by self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles offers a high surface to volume ratio that is ideal for targeting. The synthesised microparticles have a 60-fold higher cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells compared to non-targeting particles.

Advances in cryogenic transmission electron microscopy for the characterization of dynamic self-assembling nanostructures

Elucidating the structural information of nanoscale materials in their solvent-exposed state is crucial, as a result, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) has become an increasingly popular technique in the materials science, chemistry, and biology communities. Cryo-TEM provides a method to directly visualize the specimen structure in a solution-state through a thin film of vitrified solvent. This technique complements X-ray, neutron, and light scattering methods that probe the statistical average of all species present; furthermore, cryo-TEM can be used to observe changes in structure over time. In the area of self-assembly, this tool has been particularly powerful for the characterization of natural and synthetic small molecule assemblies, as well as hybrid organic-inorganic composites. In this review, we discuss recent advances in cryogenic TEM in the context of self-assembling systems with emphasis on characterization of transitions observed in response to external stimuli.