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Functional structures and materials are formed spontaneously in nature through the process of self-assembly. Mimicking this process in vitro will lead to the formation of new substances that would impact many areas including energy production and storage, biomaterials and implants, and drug delivery. The considerable structural diversity of peptides makes them appealing building blocks for self-assembly in vitro. This paper describes the self-assembly of three aromatic dipeptides containing an azide moiety: H-Phe(4-azido)-Phe(4-azido)-OH, H-Phe(4-azido)-Phe-OH, and H-Phe-Phe(4-azido)-OH. The peptide H-Phe(4-azido)-Phe(4-azido)-OH self-assembled into porous spherical structures, whereas the peptides H-Phe(4-azido)-Phe-OH and H-Phe-Phe(4-azido)-OH did not form any ordered structures under the examined experimental conditions. The azido group of the peptide can serve as a photo cross-linking agent upon irradiation with UV light. To examine the effect of this group and its activity on the self-assembled structures, we irradiated the assemblies in solution for different time periods. Using electron microscopy, we determined that the porous spherical assemblies formed by the peptide H-Phe(4-azido)-Phe(4-azido)-OH underwent a structural change upon irradiation. In addition, using FT-IR, we detected the chemical change of the peptide azido group. Moreover, using indentation experiments with atomic force microscopy, we showed that the Young's modulus of the spherical assemblies increased after 20 min of irradiation with UV light. Overall, irradiating the solution of the peptide assemblies containing the azido group resulted in a change both in the morphology and mechanical properties of the peptide-based structures. These ordered assemblies or their peptide monomer building blocks can potentially be incorporated into other peptide assemblies to generate stiffer and more stable materials. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This manuscript describes the self-assembly of three aromatic dipeptides containing an azide moiety. The azido group of the peptide can serve as a photo cross-linking agent upon irradiation with UV light. To examine this effect on the self-assembled structures, we irradiate the assemblies in solution for different time periods. Overall, this process resulted in a change both in the morphology and mechanical properties of the peptide-based structures. These ordered assemblies or their peptide monomer building blocks can potentially be incorporated into other peptide assemblies to generate stiffer and more stable materials.

Hydrogels from self-assembling ionic complementary peptides have been receiving much interest from the scientific community as mimetics of the extracellular matrix that can offer three-dimensional support for cell growth or become vehicles for the delivery of stem cells or drugs. These scaffolds have also been proposed as bone substitutes for small defects as they promote beneficial effects on human osteoblasts. In order to develop a novel bioactive titanium implant, we propose the introduction of a layer of ionic-complementary self-assembling peptides (EAbuK) on Ti whose surface has been previously sandblasted and acid etched. The peptide layer is anchored to the metal by covalent functionalization of titania with self-assembling sequences. The peptide layer has also been enriched by the insulin-like growth factor-1 incorporated to the layer and/or a conjugate obtained by chemoselective ligation between EAbuK and a sequence of 25 residues containing four GRGDSP motifs per chain. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies confirmed a change in the surface composition in agreement with the proposed decorations. An evaluation of the contact angle showed a substantial change in wettability induced by the peptide layer. The human osteoblast adhesion and proliferation assays showed an increase in adhesion for the surfaces enriched with conjugate at a concentration of 3.8 × 10⁻⁷ m and an enhanced proliferation for samples enriched with insulin-like growth factor-1 at the highest concentration tested (2.1 × 10⁻⁵ m). Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We developed a novel bioactive surface on titania disks: the first step was the selective covalent bonding between the C-terminal group of self-assembling peptides and the silanized titania surface, and the second step was the self-assembling between anchored self-assembling peptides and self-assembling peptides in solution. The self-assembling layer was decorated with the insulin-like growth factor-1 by embedding and with a conjugate (self-assembling peptide + adhesive peptide) by co-gelation. Physicochemical and biological characterizations of differently decorated bioactive surfaces are reported.

Three approaches for the chemical ligation of peptides to cotton fibers are described and compared. This investigation was encouraged by the need to create peptide-decorated natural textiles, furnished with useful properties (e.g. antimicrobial activity). IR absorption spectroscopy is proved to be an easy and fast method to check the covalent anchorage of a peptide to cotton, whereas for a quantitative determination, a UV absorption method was employed. We also analyzed the usefulness of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to characterize our peptide-cotton conjugates. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this work, three approaches for the chemical ligation of peptides and dendrimers to cotton fibers are described and compared. Characterization of the peptide bound to the cotton was achieved by means of IR absorption, UV, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies.

The Cu(I) catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) was applied for a nucleoside-peptide bioconjugation. Systemin (Sys), an 18-aa plant signaling peptide naturally produced in response to wounding or pathogen attack, was chemically synthesized as its N-propynoic acid functionalized analog (Prp-Sys) using the SPPS. Next, CuAAC was applied to conjugate Prp-Sys with 3′-azido-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine (AZT), a model cargo molecule. 1,4-Linked 1,2,3-triazole AZT-Sys conjugate was designed to characterize the spreading properties and ability to translocate of cargo molecules of systemin. CuAAC allowed the synthesis of the conjugate in a chemoselective and regioselective manner, with high purity and yield. The presence of Cu(I) ions generated in situ drove the CuAAC reaction to completion within a few minutes without any by-products. Under typical separation conditions of phosphate ‘buffer’ at low pH and uncoated fused bare-silica capillary, an increasing peak intensity assigned to triazole-linked AZT-Sys conjugate was observed using capillary electrophoresis (CE) during CuAAC. CE analysis showed that systemin peptides are stable in tomato leaf extract for up to a few hours. CE-ESI-MS revealed that the native Sys and its conjugate with AZT are translocated through the tomato stem and can be directly detected in stem exudates. The results show potential application of systemin as a transporter of low molecular weight cargo molecules in tomato plant and of CE method to characterize a behavior of plant peptides and its analogs. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

System (Sys), AVQSKPPSKRDPPKMQTD, is a defense peptide hormone involved in the wound response in tomato plant. To investigate whether Sys can transport cargo molecules through plant tissues, a conjugation of the peptide with 3′-azido-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine molecule using click chemistry was carried out. Capacity electrophoresis showed that click chemistry is a fast and efficient method of bioconjugation, and the conjugate is stable and easily translocated through tomato plant tissues.

The O-acyl isopeptide method was developed for the efficient preparation of difficult sequence-containing peptide. Furthermore, development of the O-acyl isodipeptide unit for Fmoc chemistry simplified its synthetic procedure by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Here, we report a novel isodipeptide unit for Boc chemistry, and the unit was successfully applied to the synthesis of amyloid β peptide. Combination of Boc chemistry and the isodipeptide unit would be an effective method for the synthesis of many difficult peptides. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The O-acyl isopeptide method was developed for the efficient preparation of difficult sequence-containing peptides. Furthermore, development of the O-acyl isodipeptide unit for Fmoc chemistry simplified its synthetic procedure by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Here, we report a novel isodipeptide unit for Boc chemistry, and the unit was successfully applied to the synthesis of amyloid β peptide.