Stimuli-responsive peptide assemblies: Design, self-assembly, modulation, and biomedical applications

Peptide molecules have design flexibility, self-assembly ability, high biocompatibility, good biodegradability, and easy functionalization, which promote their applications as versatile biomaterials for tissue engineering and biomedicine. In addition, the functionalization of self-assembled peptide nanomaterials with other additive components enhances their stimuli-responsive functions, promoting function-specific applications that induced by both internal and external stimulations. In this review, we demonstrate recent advance in the peptide molecular design, self-assembly, functional tailoring, and biomedical applications of peptide-based nanomaterials. The strategies on the design and synthesis of single, dual, and multiple stimuli-responsive peptide-based nanomaterials with various dimensions are analyzed, and the functional regulation of peptide nanomaterials with active components such as metal/metal oxide, DNA/RNA, polysaccharides, photosensitizers, 2D materials, and others are discussed. In addition, the designed peptide-based nanomaterials with temperature-, pH-, ion-, light-, enzyme-, and ROS-responsive abilities for drug delivery, bioimaging, cancer therapy, gene therapy, antibacterial, as well as wound healing and dressing applications are presented and discussed. This comprehensive review provides detailed methodologies and advanced techniques on the synthesis of peptide nanomaterials from molecular biology, materials science, and nanotechnology, which will guide and inspire the molecular level design of peptides with specific and multiple functions for function-specific applications.

Molecular design of an ultra-strong tissue adhesive hydrogel with tunable multifunctionality

Designing adhesive hydrogels with optimal properties for the treatment of injured tissues is challenging due to the tradeoff between material stiffness and toughness while maintaining adherence to wet tissue surfaces. In most cases, bioadhesives with improved mechanical strength often lack an appropriate elastic compliance, hindering their application for sealing soft, elastic, and dynamic tissues. Here, we present a novel strategy for engineering tissue adhesives in which molecular building blocks are manipulated to allow for precise control and optimization of the various aforementioned properties without any tradeoffs. To introduce tunable mechanical properties and robust tissue adhesion, the hydrogel network presents different modes of covalent and noncovalent interactions using N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (NHS) conjugated alginate (Alg-NHS), poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), tannic acid (TA), and Fe³⁺ ions. Through combining and tuning different molecular interactions and a variety of crosslinking mechanisms, we were able to design an extremely elastic (924%) and tough (4697 kJ/m³) multifunctional hydrogel that could quickly adhere to wet tissue surfaces within 5 s of gentle pressing and deform to support physiological tissue function over time under wet conditions. While Alg-NHS provides covalent bonding with the tissue surfaces, the catechol moieties of TA molecules synergistically adopt a mussel-inspired adhesive mechanism to establish robust adherence to the wet tissue. The strong adhesion of the engineered bioadhesive patch is showcased by its application to rabbit conjunctiva and porcine cornea. Meanwhile, the engineered bioadhesive demonstrated painless detachable characteristics and in vitro biocompatibility. Additionally, due to the molecular interactions between TA and Fe³⁺, antioxidant and antibacterial properties required to support the wound healing pathways were also highlighted. Overall, by tuning various molecular interactions, we were able to develop a single-hydrogel platform with an "all-in-one" multifunctionality that can address current challenges of engineering hydrogel-based bioadhesives for tissue repair and sealing.

Injectable, self-healing hydrogel adhesives with firm tissue adhesion and on-demand biodegradation for sutureless wound closure

Tissue adhesives have garnered extensive interest as alternatives and supplements to sutures, whereas major challenges still remain, including weak tissue adhesion, inadequate biocompatibility, and uncontrolled biodegradation. Here, injectable and biocompatible hydrogel adhesives are developed via catalyst-free o-phthalaldehyde/amine (hydrazide) cross-linking reaction. The hydrogels demonstrate rapid and firm adhesion to various tissues, and an o-phthalaldehyde-mediated tissue adhesion mechanism is established. The hydrogel adhesives show controlled degradation profiles of 6 to 22 weeks in vivo through the incorporation of disulfide bonds into hydrogel network. In liver and blood vessel injury, the hydrogels effectively seal the incisions and rapidly stop bleeding. In rat and rabbit models of full-thickness skin incision, the hydrogel adhesives quickly close the incisions and accelerate wound healing, which exhibit efficacies superior to those of commercially available fibrin glue and cyanoacrylate glue. Thus, the hydrogel adhesives show great potential for sutureless wound closure, hemostasis sealing, and prevention of leakage in surgical applications.

Peptide hydrogels: Synthesis, properties, and applications in food science

Due to the unique and excellent biological, physical, and chemical properties of peptide hydrogels, their application in the biomedical field is extremely wide. The applications of peptide hydrogels are closely related to their unique responsiveness and excellent properties. However, its defects in mechanical properties, stability, and toxicity limit its application in the food field. In this review, we focus on the fabrication methods of peptide hydrogels through the physical, chemical, and biological stimulations. In addition, the functional design of peptide hydrogels by the incorporation with materials is discussed. Meanwhile, the excellent properties of peptide hydrogels such as the stimulus responsiveness, biocompatibility, antimicrobial properties, rheology, and stability are reviewed. Finally, the application of peptide hydrogel in the food field is summarized and prospected.

Thermo-induced physically crosslinked polypeptide-based block copolymer hydrogels for biomedical applications

Stimuli-responsive synthetic polypeptide-containing block copolymers have received considerable attention in recent years. Especially, unique thermo-induced sol-gel phase transitions were observed for elaborately-designed amphiphilic diblock copolypeptides and a range of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-polypeptide block copolymers. The thermo-induced gelation mechanisms involve the evolution of secondary conformation, enhanced intramolecular interactions, as well as reduced hydration and increased chain entanglement of PEG blocks. The physical parameters, including polymer concentrations, sol-gel transition temperatures and storage moduli, were investigated. The polypeptide hydrogels exhibited good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo, and displayed biodegradation periods ranging from 1 to 5 weeks. The unique thermo-induced sol-gel phase transitions offer the feasibility of minimal-invasive injection of the precursor aqueous solutions into body, followed by in situ hydrogel formation driven by physiological temperature. These advantages make polypeptide hydrogels interesting candidates for diverse biomedical applications, especially as injectable scaffolds for 3D cell culture and tissue regeneration as well as depots for local drug delivery. This review focuses on recent advances in the design and preparation of injectable, thermo-induced physically crosslinked polypeptide hydrogels. The influence of composition, secondary structure and chirality of polypeptide segments on the physical properties and biodegradation of the hydrogels are emphasized. Moreover, the studies on biomedical applications of the hydrogels are intensively discussed. Finally, the major challenges in the further development of polypeptide hydrogels for practical applications are proposed.

Injectable hydrogel imbibed with camptothecin-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles as an implantable sustained delivery depot for cancer therapy

In recent years, injectable stimuli-sensitive hydrogels are employed as suitable drug delivery carriers for the release of various anti-cancer drugs. However, large pore size of the microporous hydrogel trigger release of small molecular anticancer drug that limits hydrogel application in cancer therapy. Therefore, introducing reinforcing fillers such as mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) can not only load different type of anticancer drugs but also prevent the premature release of drugs due to the strengthening of the networks. Furthermore, high specific surface area, suitable size, large pore volume, and stable physicochemical properties of MSNs can improve the therapeutic efficacy. In this study, to sustain the release of hydrophobic anticancer drug, camptothecin (CPT) was loaded into MSNs, and then imbibed into the physiological stimuli-sensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(β-aminoester urethane) (PAEU) hydrogels. MSN-imbibed PAEU hydrogels exhibited prolonged release of CPT than MSNs and PAEU hydrogel alone. Furthermore, MSN-imbibed PAEU copolymers form stable viscoelastic gel depot into the subcutaneous layers of Sprague-Dawley rats and found to be safe and not induced toxicity to healthy organs, implying biodegradability and safety of the hydrogels. Interestingly, CPT-loaded hydrogels shown dose-dependent toxicity to A549 and B16F10 cells. These results demonstrated that MSN-imbibed PAEU hydrogel with biocompatible, biodegradable, and in situ gel forming property could be a useful drug delivery depot for sustained release of anticancer drugs.

Recent advances in post-polymerization modifications on polypeptides: synthesis and applications

Polypeptides, a kind of very promising biomaterial, have shown a wide range of applications due to their excellent biocompatibility, easy accessibility, and structural variability. To synthesize polypeptides with desired functions, post-polymerization modification (PPM) plays an important role in introducing novel chemical structure on their side-chains. The key of PPM strategy is to develop highly selective and efficient reactions that can couple the additional functional moieties with pre-installed side-chain functionalities on polypeptides. In this minireview, classic PPM reactions and especially their recent progresses are summarized, including different modification approaches for unsaturated alkyl group, oxygen-containing functional group, nitrogen-containing functional group, sulfur-containing functional group and other special functional group on side chains. In addition, this review also highlights the applications of structure-diversified polypeptides generated via PPM strategy in the field of biomaterial.

In Situ Growth of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-L in Macroporous PVA/CMC/PEG Composite Hydrogels with Synergistic Antibacterial and Rapid Hemostatic Functions for Wound Dressing

Although many advances have been made in medicine, traumatic bleeding and wound infection are two of the most serious threats to human health. To achieve rapid hemostasis and prevent infection by pathogenic microbes, the development of new hemostatic and antibacterial materials has recently gained significant attention. In this paper, safe, non-toxic, and biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol (PVA); carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), which contains several carboxyl and hydroxyl groups; and polyethylene glycol (PEG), which functions as a pore-forming agent, were used to prepare a novel PVA/CMC/PEG-based composite hydrogel with a macroporous structure by the freeze-thaw method and the phase separation technique. In addition, a PVA/CMC/PEG@ZIF-L composite hydrogel was prepared by the in situ growth of zeolitic imidazolate framework-L (ZIF-L). ZIF-L grown in situ on hydrogels released Zn²⁺ and imidazolyl groups. They elicited a synergistic antibacterial effect in hemostasis with PVA and CMC, rendering the PVA/CMC/PEG@ZIF-L hydrogel with a good antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus. At the same time, the macroporous structure enabled the rapid release of Zn²⁺ and imidazolyl groups in ZIF-L and promoted cell proliferation at an early stage, enhancing the coagulation efficiency. A rat liver injury model was used to confirm its rapid hemostasis capacity.

Biodegradable and Injectable Hydrogels in Biomedical Applications

Injectable hydrogels are a unique class of hydrogels that are formed upon injection into living bodies. They possess features of typical hydrogels such as softness, 3D network structures, large contents of water, the ability to load water-soluble substances, and so on. Furthermore, their injectability allows injectable hydrogels to be implanted into living bodies using a syringe in a minimally invasive way. After being loaded with different active substances (drugs, proteins, genes, viruses, cells, etc.), injectable hydrogels have been demonstrated to be potential in many different biomedical applications including controlled release and tissue engineering. However, biodegradability is also an important property of injectable hydrogels and allows removal of the hydrogels after accomplishment of their tasks. In this Perspective, we aim at introducing several different types of biodegradable and injectable hydrogels and compare their differences in properties and applications. Lastly, we also point out some remaining problems and future trends in the field of biodegradable and injectable hydrogels.