Recent Advances in Antimicrobial Peptide Hydrogels

Abstract

Advances in the number and type of available biomaterials have improved medical devices such as catheters, stents, pacemakers, prosthetic joints, and orthopedic devices. The introduction of a foreign material into the body comes with a risk of microbial colonization and subsequent infection. Infections of surgically implanted devices often lead to device failure, which leads to increased patient morbidity and mortality. The overuse and improper use of antimicrobials has led to an alarming rise and spread of drug-resistant infections. To overcome the problem of drug-resistant infections, novel antimicrobial biomaterials are increasingly being researched and developed. Hydrogels are a class of 3D biomaterials consisting of a hydrated polymer network with tunable functionality. As hydrogels are customizable, many different antimicrobial agents, such as inorganic molecules, metals, and antibiotics have been incorporated or tethered to them. Due to the increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are being increasingly explored as alternative agents. AMP-tethered hydrogels are being increasingly examined for antimicrobial properties and practical applications, such as wound-healing. Here, we provide a recent update, from the last 5 years of innovations and discoveries made in the development of photopolymerizable, self-assembling, and AMP-releasing hydrogels.

Recent advances of hydrogels as smart dressings for diabetic wounds

“…AMPs have amphipathic cationic surfaces that can form transmembrane ion channels on bacterial cell membranes, disrupting the integrity of the cell membrane. 126 Jeong and colleagues prepared an injectable supramolecular hydrogel by simply mixing cyclodextrin-modified hyaluronic acid and adamantane-functionalized hyaluronic acid (Ad-HA). Ad-HA was coupled to AMP through a cyclic peptide linker consisting of MMP and ROS-cleavable sequences (Fig.…”

Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Assemblies

“…Recent advances in self-assembled peptide nanostructures have been reviewed [143,165]. Hydrogels are a good example of versatile carriers that can deliver AMPs while displaying convenient properties such as photopolymerization, self-assembly, and controlled release of AMPs [27]. Polymers employed for constructing hydrogels can be synthetic, such as PEG and PLGA, or natural, such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and gelatin, being highly biocompatible and displaying tunable properties.…”

“…The clinical applications for AMPs will possibly rely on overcoming the poor stability of natural AMPs and their toxic effects on the patient, e.g., hemolysis; therefore, developing synthetic and long-lasting AMP derivatives has been considered a powerful strategy for the future pharmacology of AMPs [24,25]. For example, antimicrobial peptide-polymer conjugates [24,26] not only preserve excellent antimicrobial activity but also show reduced toxicity, offering more functionalities as those represented by biomedical materials such as hydrogels [27], polymeric materials with applications in wound dressings [28], orthopedic implant coatings [29], antibiofilm materials [30,31], engineered tissues, etc. [32][33][34][35][36].…”

The effect of antimicrobial peptide HX‐12C on the properties of chitosan/polyacrylic acid hydrogel

“…Notably, antimicrobial hydrogels play a crucial role in the treatment of wound infections 4 . Typically, they exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity by incorporating antimicrobial substances, such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) 5 . Most AMPs are amphipathic and cationic peptides, which are widely distributed in viruses, bacteria, as well as various animals and plants due to the broad‐spectrum antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, and analgesic activities.…”

“…4 Typically, they exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity by incorporating antimicrobial substances, such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). 5 Most AMPs are amphipathic and cationic peptides, which are widely distributed in viruses, bacteria, as well as various animals and plants due to the broad-spectrum antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, and analgesic activities. AMPs primarily eradicate microorganisms by damaging cell membranes and disrupting normal cellular metabolism.…”