Cholesteryl-Conjugated Ribonuclease A Exhibits Enzyme Activity in Aqueous Solution and Resistance to Dimethyl Sulfoxide

Using bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) and cholesterol, we synthesized cholesteryl-conjugated ribonuclease A (CHRNase A) to evaluate the influence of a conjugated hydrophobic moiety on protein function. Nuclear magnetic resonance and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight spectrometry suggested that one cholesteryl group was conjugated to RNase A. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated that CHRNase A was denatured in the solid state but was folded in phosphate buffer (0.05 mol/L, pH 6.5). CHRNase A resembled RNase A in its secondary structure, but circular dichroism (CD) spectra revealed that the helical content of CHRNase A was decreased and the tertiary structure of CHRNase A differed from that of RNase A. Furthermore, fluorescence measurements, CD spectra, an 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid ammonium salt-based assay, and surface tension measurements suggested that cholesterol was conjugated to a tyrosine residue on the protein surface. The relative activity of CHRNase A to RNase A was 79 ± 7%, and the enzyme activity of CHRNase A by adding β-cyclodextrin (β-CyD) increased to 129 ± 7%. Therefore, we considered that the cholesteryl group interacted with substrate (cytidine 2'3'-cyclic monophosphate monosodium salt) to inhibit the enzyme reaction. Finally, the environment around tyrosine residues in CHRNase A in dimethyl sulfoxide was similar to that of native RNase A in phosphate buffer (0.05 mol/L, pH 6.5). These results suggest that cholesterol conjugation to RNase A altered RNase A functionality, including improvement of RNase A resistance to dimethyl sulfoxide and modulation of the ability of β-CyD to control RNase A enzymatic activity.

Nanogel Tectonics for Tissue Engineering: Protein Delivery Systems with Nanogel Chaperones

Amphiphilic polysaccharide self-assembled (SA) nanogels are promising protein carriers owing to their chaperone-like activity that allows them to nanoencapsulate proteins within their polymer networks. The chaperoning function is an important concept that has led to breakthroughs in the development of effective protein drug delivery systems by stabilizing formulations and controlling the quality of unstable proteins. Recently, nanogel-tectonic materials that integrate SA nanogels as building blocks have been designed as new hydrogel biomaterials. This article describes recent progress and applications of SA nanogel tectonic materials as protein delivery systems for tissue engineering.

Current advances in self-assembled nanogel delivery systems for immunotherapy

Since nanogels (nanometer-sized gels) were developed two decades ago, they were utilized as carriers of innovative drug delivery systems. In particular, immunological drug delivery via self-assembled nanogels (self-nanogels) owing to their nanometer size and molecular chaperon-like ability to encapsulate large biomolecules is one of the most well studied and successful applications of nanogels. In the present review, we focus on self-nanogel applications as immunological drug delivery systems for cancer vaccines, cytokine delivery, nasal vaccines, and nucleic acid delivery, including several clinical trials. Cancer vaccines were the first practical application of self-nanogels as vehicles for drug delivery. After successful pre-clinical studies, phase I clinical trials were conducted, and it was found that vaccines consisting of self-nanogels could be administered repeatedly to humans without serious adverse effects, and self-nanogel vaccines induced antigen-specific cellular and humoral immunity. Cytokine delivery via self-nanogels led to the sustained release of IL-12, suppressed tumor growth, and increased Th1-type immune responses. Cationic self-nanogels were effective in penetrating the nasal mucosa and resulted in successful nasal vaccines in mice and nonhuman primates. Cationic self-nanogels were also used for the intracellular delivery of proteins and nucleic acids, and were successfully used to knockdown tumor growth factor expression using short interfering RNA with the immunological effect. These studies suggest that self-nanogels are currently one of the most unique and attractive immunological drug delivery systems and are edging closer to practical use.

Advanced molecular self-assemblies facilitated by simple molecules

Advanced materials are often based on smart molecular self-assemblies that either respond to external stimuli or have hierarchical structures. Approaches to this goal usually stem from complicated molecular design and difficult organic synthesis. In this invited feature article, we demonstrate that desired molecular self-assemblies can be made conveniently by introducing simple functional molecules into amphiphilic systems. We show that upon introducing specific small molecules which serve as responders, modulators, or even building blocks, smart supramolecular architectures can be achieved which avoid complicated organic synthesis. We expect that this could be a general and economical way to produce advanced materials in the near future.

Nanogel engineering for new nanobiomaterials: from chaperoning engineering to biomedical applications

Nanosize hydrogels (nanogels) are polymer nanoparticles with three-dimensional networks, formed by chemical and/or physical cross-linking of polymer chains. Recently, various nanogels have been designed, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. In this review, we describe recent progress in the synthesis of nanogels and nanogel-integrated hydrogels (nanogel cross-linked gels) for drug-delivery systems (DDS), regenerative medicine, and bioimaging. We also discuss chaperone-like functions of physical cross-linking nanogel (chaperoning engineering) and organic-inorganic hybrid nanogels.

Cyclodextrin-based polymeric materials: synthesis, properties, and pharmaceutical/biomedical applications

This review describes the synthesis, properties, and, in particular, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of an upcoming class of polymeric networks and assemblies based on cyclodextrins (CDs). CDs are cyclic oligosaccharides composed of alpha-1,4-coupled d-glucose units, which contain a hydrophobic internal cavity that can act as a host for various, generally lipophilic, guest molecules. Because of this unique physicochemical property, commonly referred to as inclusion complex formation, CDs have often been used to design polymeric materials, such as hydrogels and nanoparticles. Polymeric systems based on CDs exhibit unique characteristics in terms of mechanical properties, stimuli-responsiveness, and drug release characteristics. In this contribution, first, an outline is given of covalently cross-linked polymeric networks in which CD moieties were structurally incorporated to modulate the network strength as well as the complexation and release of low molecular weight drugs. Second, physically assembled polymeric systems are discussed, of which the formation is accomplished by inclusion complexes between polymer-conjugated CDs and various guest molecule-derivatized polymers. Due to their physical nature, these polymeric systems are sensitive to external stimuli, such as temperature changes, shear forces and the presence of competing CD-binding molecules, which can be exploited to use these systems as injectable, in situ gelling devices. In recent years, many interesting CD-containing polymeric systems have been described in literature. These systems have to be optimized and extensively evaluated in preclinical studies concerning their safety and efficacy, making future clinical applications of these materials in the biomedical and pharmaceutical field feasible.

Characterization of Interactions in Aqueous Solutions of Hydroxyethylcellulose and Its Hydrophobically Modified Analogue in the Presence of a Cyclodextrin Derivative

The formation of associative networks in semidilute aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified hydroxyethylcellulose (HM-HEC) is dependent on intermolecular hydrophobic interactions. Addition of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) monomers to the system provides decoupling of these associations via inclusion complex formation with the polymer hydrophobic tails. Results from viscosity, polymer NMR self-diffusion, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements show that the hydrophobic interactions in HM-HEC solutions are effectively suppressed when the level of HP-beta-CD addition increases. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) results reveal that the large-scale association complexes in HM-HEC solutions are strongly diminished when the concentration of HP-beta-CD rises. The time correlation data obtained from the DLS experiments unveiled the existence of two relaxation modes: one single exponential at short times followed by a stretched exponential at longer times. The fast mode is always diffusive, whereas the slow mode exhibits progressively stronger wavevector dependence as the intensity of the hydrophobic interactions increases. This feature, as well as the accompanying drop of the stretched exponential beta as the HP-beta-CD concentration decreases, is attributed to enhanced hydrophobic interactions and can be well rationalized in the framework of the coupling model of Ngai.

Hybrid Nanogels with Physical and Chemical Cross-Linking Structures as Nanocarriers

Polymerizable nanogels were prepared by self-assembly of cholesteryl group-bearing pullulan (CHP) with methacryloyl groups (CHPMA). The CHPMA nanogel was polymerized with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) by radical polymerization in dilute aqueous solution. The solution properties of the polymers in water were investigated by TEM, SEC-MALS, and fluorescence quenching technique. Monodispersed hybrid nanogels of CHPMA-MPC (CM nanogels) (25-30 nm in radius of gyration) were obtained by using CHPMA nanogel as a seed-nanogel. CM nanogels have a dual cross-linking structure that is physically cross-linked with the cholesteryl groups and chemically cross-linked with the MPC polymer chains. CM nanogels trap heat-denatured carbonic anhydrase B (CAB) and prevent their aggregations. The nanogels maintained the ability of trapping and releasing enzymes by host-guest interaction of cholesteryl group and cyclodextrin.

Nanogel-quantum dot hybrid nanoparticles for live cell imaging

We report here a novel carrier of quantum dots (QDs) for intracellular labeling. Monodisperse hybrid nanoparticles (38 nm in diameter) of QDs were prepared by simple mixing with nanogels of cholesterol-bearing pullulan (CHP) modified with amino groups (CHPNH2). The CHPNH2-QD nanoparticles were effectively internalized into the various human cells examined. The efficiency of cellular uptake was much higher than that of a conventional carrier, cationic liposome. These hybrid nanoparticles could be a promising fluorescent probe for bioimaging.

Design of Hybrid Hydrogels with Self-Assembled Nanogels as Cross-Linkers: Interaction with Proteins and Chaperone-Like Activity

New hybrid hydrogels with nanogel domains were obtained by using polymerizable self-assembled nanogels as cross-linkers. Methacryloyl groups were introduced to cholesteryl group-bearing pullulan (CHP). The methacryloyl group-bearing CHPs (CHPMAs) formed nanogels by their self-association in water (R(g) = 14-17 nm). CHPMA nanogels were polymerized with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) by radical polymerization in a semidilute aqueous solution. CHPMA nanogels acted as effective cross-linkers for gelation. TEM observation showed that the nanogel structure was retained after gelation and that the nanogels were well dispersed in the macrogel. The hybrid hydrogels showed two well-defined networks such as a nanogel intranetwork structure of less than 10 nm (physically cross-linking) and an internetwork structure of several hundred nanometers (chemically cross-linking). The immobilized nanogels retained their ability to trap and release protein (insulin was used as a model protein) by host-guest interaction of the cholesteryl group and cyclodextrin and also showed high chaperone-like activity for refolding of chemically denatured protein.

Thermoresponsive Controlled Association of Protein with a Dynamic Nanogel of Hydrophobized Polysaccharide and Cyclodextrin: Heat Shock Protein-Like Activity of Artificial Molecular Chaperone

Dynamic CHP-CD nanogels, which consisted of a self-assembly of cholesteryl-group-bearing pullulan (CHP) and beta-cyclodextrin (CD), were characterized by SEC and SEC-MALS methods. The nanogels prevented the thermal aggregation of carbonic anhydrase B (CAB) by selective trapping of the heat-denatured protein. After the complex between the CHP-CD nanogels and CAB was cooled, the enzyme activity of CAB spontaneously recovered upon release from the complex. The dynamic nanogels self-regulated an association of heat denatured protein and dissociation of native protein depending on the concentration of CD. The thermal stability of CAB was improved by thermoresponsive controlled association between the proteins and the artificial molecular chaperone.

Protein refolding assisted by self-assembled nanogels as novel artificial molecular chaperone

Molecular chaperone-like activity for protein refolding was investigated using nanogels of self-assembly of cholesterol-bearing pullulan. Nanogels effectively prevented protein aggregation (i.e. carbonic anhydrase and citrate synthase) during protein refolding from GdmCl denaturation. Enzyme activity recovered in high yields upon dissociation of the gel structure in which the proteins were trapped, by the addition of cyclodextrins. The nanogels assisted protein refolding in a manner similar to the mechanism of molecular chaperones, namely by catching and releasing proteins. The nanogels acted as a host for the trapping of refolded intermediate proteins. Cyclodextrin is an effector molecule that controls the binding ability of these host nanogels to proteins. The present nanogel system was also effective at the renaturation of inclusion body of a recombinant protein of the serine protease family.