Acid‐Activatable Transmorphic Peptide‐Based Nanomaterials for Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

Inspired by the dynamic morphology control of molecular assemblies in biological systems,wehave developed pH-responsive transformable peptide-based nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy(PDT) with prolonged tumor retention times.T he self-assembled peptide-porphyrin nanoparticles transformed into nanofibers when exposed to the acidic tumor microenvironment, which was mainly driven by enhanced intermolecular hydrogen bond formation between the protonated molecules.T he nanoparticle transformation into fibrils improved their singlet oxygen generation ability and enabled high accumulation and long-term retention at tumor sites. Strong fluorescent signals of these nanomaterials were detected in tumor tissue up to 7daysafter administration. Moreover,the peptide assemblies exhibited excellent anti-tumor efficacy via PDT in vivo.This in situ fibrillar transformation strategy could be utilized to design effective stimuli-responsive biomaterials for long-term imaging and therapy.

Biomimetic Nanozymes Based on Coassembly of Amino Acid and Hemin for Catalytic Oxidation and Sensing of Biomolecules

“…In natural HRP, the peptide chain binds heme as a redox cofactor mainly through the coordination interaction between the side chain of histidine and the iron of heme along with other noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic effect. [ 8 ] Importantly, histidine not only provides a binding site for coordination but also participates in oxidation reactions. Inspired by the supramolecular structures of HRP, herein we report the design of nanoassemblies ( Figure ) through coassembly of an amphiphilic amino acid (Fmoc‐histidine, FH) and a heme derivative (hemin).…”

Embedment of Quantum Dots and Biomolecules in a Dipeptide Hydrogel Formed In Situ Using Microfluidics

“…In porphyrin aggregates, there is a dramatically quenched fluorescence signal due to π–π stacking of TCPP or TAPP. However, this quenching effect is weakened by increasing the Fmoc‐FF concentration in the supramolecular hydrogel, indicating that porphyrins and dipeptide likewise participate in self‐assembly on molecular level [17a] . Herein, a plausible assembly model is shown in Figure 2 a to explain molecular interactions in nanofiber.…”

“…[16] Besides, porphyrins have been employed as typical light-harvested pigments being widely used as biocompatible photosensitizers, e.g., in photodynamic therapy. [17] We expect that inorganic QDs can cooperate with organic porphyrins in one integrated system without surfactant to achieve energy transfer. [16a, 18] As a result, we find Fmoc-FF-induced selfassembly and hydrogel nucleation, respectively, can occur at a dynamic DMSO-water interface owing to - interactions, aiding QDs and the porphyrin to be integrated in one hydrogel.…”

Target-driven supramolecular self-assembly for selective amyloid-β photooxygenation against Alzheimer's disease

“…Since the self-assembly is based on the synergy of noncovalent interactions, it is easily subject to environmental variations. 36,[43][44][45] Considering the high binding affinity of Ab with KLVFF, Ab deposition in the brain of AD patients could trigger the disassembly of PKNPs. To test this hypothesis, the morphology change of PKNPs was rst detected by TEM.…”