Hemopressin-Based pH-Sensitive Hydrogel: A Potential Bioactive Platform for Drug Delivery.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Peptide Self-Assembly

Background:

• Peptides can self-assemble into nanostructures and nanomatrices.
• Hemopressin, a peptide modulating cannabinoid receptors, is known to form nanofibrils.
• Investigating hemopressin as a potential hydrogelator for biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate hemopressin's potential as a gelator for creating nanostructured matrices.
• To investigate the influence of pH and salt concentration on hemopressin gel formation.
• To explore the pH-responsive drug release capabilities and biocompatibility of hemopressin hydrogels.

Main Methods:

• Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy to analyze secondary structure.
• Microscopy to assess fibril length in different pH conditions.
• Drug release studies using FITC-dextran and cell proliferation assays to evaluate biocompatibility.

Main Results:

• Hemopressin gelation is dependent on pH and salt concentration.
• Microscopic structure predominantly features antiparallel β-sheet conformation across states.
• pH influences fibril length (4 μm at pH 7.4 vs. 800 nm at pH 5.0), enabling pH-responsive drug release.
• Demonstrated biocompatibility through successful bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell proliferation.

Conclusions:

• Hemopressin exhibits pH-dependent sol-gel phase transition properties.
• The peptide forms biocompatible nanostructures suitable for drug delivery.
• Hemopressin is a promising candidate for a therapeutically active drug delivery platform.