TY - JOUR
T1 - NGIWY-Amide
T2 - A Bioinspired Ultrashort Self-Assembled Peptide Gelator for Local Drug Delivery Applications
AU - Theodoroula, Nikoleta F.
AU - Karavasili, Christina
AU - Vlasiou, Manos C.
AU - Primikyri, Alexandra
AU - Nicolaou, Christia
AU - Chatzikonstantinou, Alexandra V.
AU - Chatzitaki, Aikaterini Theodora
AU - Petrou, Christos
AU - Bouropoulos, Nikolaos
AU - Zacharis, Constantinos K.
AU - Galatou, Eleftheria
AU - Sarigiannis, Yiannis
AU - Fatouros, Dimitrios G.
AU - Vizirianakis, Ioannis S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This study was supported by the interdepartmental funds of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. This research was co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning” in the context of the project “Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research—2nd cycle” (MIS 5000432, implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKΥ) awarded to N.F.T.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by the interdepartmental funds of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. This research was co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Program ?Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning? in the context of the project ?Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research?2nd cycle? (MIS 5000432, implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IK?) awarded to N.F.T. We would like to acknowledge the Network of Research Supporting Laboratories at the University of Ioannina for using the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Center and the Biotechnology Laboratory of the University of Ioannina for providing access to the circular dichroism facilities. The authors gratefully acknowledge Evangelos Karoutsos for the AFM images and Mary Kollia and the Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis, School of Natural Sciences, University of Patras, for the TEM measurements.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Fibrillar structures derived from plant or animal origin have long been a source of inspira-tion for the design of new biomaterials. The Asn-Gly-Ile-Trp-Tyr-NH2 (NGIWY-amide) pentapeptide, isolated from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, which spontaneously self-assembles in water to form hydrogel, pertains to this category. In this study, we evaluated this ultra-short cosmetic bioinspired peptide as vector for local drug delivery applications. Combining nuclear magnetic resonance, circular dichroism, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and rheological studies, the synthesized pentapeptide formed a stiff hydrogel with a high β-sheet content. Molecular dynamic simulations aligned well with scanning electron and atomic-force microscopy studies, revealing a highly filamentous structure with the fibers adopting a helical-twisted morphology. Model dye localization within the supramolecular hydrogel provided insights on the preferential distribution of hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds in the hydrogel network. That was further depicted in the diffusion kinetics of drugs differing in their aqueous solubility and molecular weight, namely, doxorubicin hydrochloride, curcumin, and octreotide acetate, highlighting its versatility as a delivery vector of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds of different molecular weight. Along with the observed cytocompatibility of the hydrogel, the NGIWY-amide pentapeptide may offer new approaches for cell growth, drug delivery, and 3D bioprinting tissue-engineering applications.
AB - Fibrillar structures derived from plant or animal origin have long been a source of inspira-tion for the design of new biomaterials. The Asn-Gly-Ile-Trp-Tyr-NH2 (NGIWY-amide) pentapeptide, isolated from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, which spontaneously self-assembles in water to form hydrogel, pertains to this category. In this study, we evaluated this ultra-short cosmetic bioinspired peptide as vector for local drug delivery applications. Combining nuclear magnetic resonance, circular dichroism, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and rheological studies, the synthesized pentapeptide formed a stiff hydrogel with a high β-sheet content. Molecular dynamic simulations aligned well with scanning electron and atomic-force microscopy studies, revealing a highly filamentous structure with the fibers adopting a helical-twisted morphology. Model dye localization within the supramolecular hydrogel provided insights on the preferential distribution of hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds in the hydrogel network. That was further depicted in the diffusion kinetics of drugs differing in their aqueous solubility and molecular weight, namely, doxorubicin hydrochloride, curcumin, and octreotide acetate, highlighting its versatility as a delivery vector of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds of different molecular weight. Along with the observed cytocompatibility of the hydrogel, the NGIWY-amide pentapeptide may offer new approaches for cell growth, drug delivery, and 3D bioprinting tissue-engineering applications.
KW - Drug delivery
KW - NGIWY-amide
KW - Sea cucumber
KW - Self-assembled peptide hydrogels
KW - Smart materials
KW - Ultra-short peptides
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122429830&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/pharmaceutics14010133
DO - 10.3390/pharmaceutics14010133
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85122429830
SN - 1999-4923
VL - 14
JO - Pharmaceutics
JF - Pharmaceutics
IS - 1
M1 - 133
ER -