Generic placeholder image

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1568-0266
ISSN (Online): 1873-4294

The Unexpected Advantages of Using D-Amino Acids for Peptide Self- Assembly into Nanostructured Hydrogels for Medicine

Author(s): Michele Melchionna, Katie E. Styan and Silvia Marchesan

Volume 16, Issue 18, 2016

Page: [2009 - 2018] Pages: 10

DOI: 10.2174/1568026616999160212120302

open access plus

Abstract

Self-assembled peptide hydrogels have brought innovation to the medicinal field, not only as responsive biomaterials but also as nanostructured therapeutic agents or as smart drug delivery systems. D-amino acids are typically introduced to increase the peptide enzymatic stability. However, there are several reports of unexpected effects on peptide conformation, self-assembly behavior, cytotoxicity and even therapeutic activity. This mini-review discusses all the surprising twists of heterochiral self-assembled peptide hydrogels, and delineates emerging key findings to exploit all the benefits of D-amino acids in this novel medicinal area.

Keywords: Chirality, D-Amino acids, Enantiomers, Heterochiral, Hydrogels, Nanomaterials, Peptides, Self-assembly.

Graphical Abstract

© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy