Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• collagens, laminins, fibronectin, and elastin, which contain several short peptide recognition and binding motifs in their amino acid sequence for interaction with specific cellular surface integrins or other types of receptors [23]. Within the ECM, fibronectin is the best-known attachment site for cells by

• embryonic differentiation, cell morphology, cell migration, and thrombosis [19]. The function of fibronectin as a cell-binding molecule involves its recognition by integrins through short peptide motifs, among them the prominent Arg–Gly–Asp (RGD) and Leu–Asp–Val–Pro (LDVP) sequences [19]. 1.2 Applications

• materials using bioactive and bioadhesive molecules, such as full-length ECM proteins or functional peptide fragments thereof. These ligands interact with cell receptors for guiding cellular responses, such as cell proliferation or specific matrix degradation [31][32][33][34]. Compared to full-length

Recent advances in nanoarchitectures of monocrystalline coordination polymers through confined assembly

• Lingling Xia,
• Qinyue Wang and
• Ming Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 763–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.67

• growth. However, the hard boundary cannot be deformed or passed through, changing the shape of the crystal far from the intrinsic symmetry. A type of peptide-based metal-organic frameworks (CuGHG, GHG = glycine–ʟ-histidine–glycine) was grown in microfluidic channels [103]. Several branches of the

Design and selection of peptides to block the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain by molecular docking

• Kendra Ramirez-Acosta,
• Ivan A. Rosales-Fuerte,
• J. Eduardo Perez-Sanchez,
• Alfredo Nuñez-Rivera,
• Josue Juarez and
• Ruben D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 699–711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.62

• peptides to neutralize the infective mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 through the RBD is an interesting strategy. The binding ability of 104 peptides (University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Peptide Database) to the RBD was assessed using molecular docking. Based on the molecular docking results

• , Y489, Q493, G496, T500, and N501 located on the active region of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD (Figure 1b, red rectangle) [6]. Therefore, the RBD has been proposed as one of therapeutic targets to block the infection mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. For instance, peptide analogues of the ACE2 receptor (I21 to S44) have

• , indolicidin, and dermaseptin peptides have been used to neutralize viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, and hepatitis B virus [9][10][11]. In order to find an effective peptide, it is important to reduce secondary effects by avoiding the binding with the major

Stimuli-responsive polypeptide nanogels for trypsin inhibition

• Petr Šálek,
• Jana Dvořáková,
• Sviatoslav Hladysh,
• Diana Oleshchuk,
• Ewa Pavlova,
• Jan Kučka and
• Vladimír Proks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 538–548, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.45

• insulin, which was continuously released over 12 h [15]. Hirakura et al. fabricated a cholesteryl group-bearing pullulan nanogel serving as a reservoir of three different proteins, glucagon-like peptide 1, insulin, and erythropoietin incorporated in hyaluronan hydrogel [16]. Morimoto et al. prepared an

Micro- and nanotechnology in biomedical engineering for cartilage tissue regeneration in osteoarthritis

• Zahra Nabizadeh,
• Mahmoud Nasrollahzadeh,
• Hamed Daemi,
• Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad,
• Ali Akbar Shabani,
• Mehdi Dadashpour,
• Majid Mirmohammadkhani and
• Davood Nasrabadi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 363–389, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.31

• , microsphere structures can be independently used as carriers for the delivery of drugs and bioactive molecules to repair cartilage defects. The sustained release of PTH (1-34) from PLGA microspheres improved papain-induced defects in a rat model of OA and retained the bioactivity of the released peptide up to

• (NIPAm-AMPS) NPs for the delivery of cell penetrating anti-inflammatory peptides, which selectively target defective sites [66]. In this study, the results showed that an anti-inflammatory peptide-loaded NP could selectively and effectively reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines within the

• could be tuned to meet the needs of chondrocyte behavior and function. Kim et al. studied the effects of adhesivity and mechanics of electrospun nanofibers of HA on hMSC chondrogenesis [8]. They synthesized photocrosslinkable RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)-engrafted HA for electrospinning. The RGD peptide density

Coordination-assembled myricetin nanoarchitectonics for sustainably scavenging free radicals

• Xiaoyan Ma,
• Haoning Gong,
• Kenji Ogino,
• Xuehai Yan and
• Ruirui Xing

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 284–291, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.23

• signal pathways and, thus, of sustainably scavenging radicals. However, Myr is poorly soluble in water, which limits its bioavailability for biomedical applications, and even its clinical therapeutic potential. The antioxidant peptide glutathione (GSH) plays a role as antioxidant in cells and possesses

Self-assembly of amino acids toward functional biomaterials

• Huan Ren,
• Lifang Wu,
• Lina Tan,
• Yanni Bao,
• Yuchen Ma,
• Yong Jin and
• Qianli Zou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1140–1150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.85

• function due to the collective behavior of aggregates [24]. However, protein and peptide assemblies exhibit disadvantages, such as difficulty in obtaining high quantities of materials, corresponding high costs, and in some cases polydispersity and purification limitations. When using proteins and peptides

• as functional materials it can be difficult to arrange assembled nanostructures at both microscopic and macroscopic scales [10]. Also, fine manipulation of noncovalent interactions and corresponding peptide and protein nanostructures remains a huge challenge [24]. Amino acids are the major components

• . However, using these simple building blocks to design attractive materials remains a challenge due to the simplicity of the amino acids [26]. Most articles about self-assembly focus on peptide and protein self-assembly [15][29]. Therefore, it is of great significance to systematically summarize the latest

Use of nanosystems to improve the anticancer effects of curcumin

• Andrea M. Araya-Sibaja,
• Norma J. Salazar-López,
• Krissia Wilhelm Romero,
• José R. Vega-Baudrit,
• J. Abraham Domínguez-Avila,
• Carlos A. Velázquez Contreras,
• Ramón E. Robles-Zepeda,
• Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos and
• Gustavo A. González-Aguilar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1047–1062, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.78

• shown to increase the antiproliferative effect (IC50 12.4 µM) of CUR, as compared to the free molecule (IC50 17.2 µM) within the assayed range (5–40 µM) [132]. Cui et al. [134] reported the use of CUR-loaded MNP to achieve active targeting in conjunction with transferrin receptor binding peptide T7

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

• (targeting the intracellular TK domain). In addition to the monoclonal antibodies, different EGFR-specific targeting ligands were developed for the extracellular EGFR domain, such as single-chain antibody fragments, antibodies, recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF), and EGF peptide mimetics. At the site

A review on the biological effects of nanomaterials on silkworm (Bombyx mori)

• Sandra Senyo Fometu,
• Guohua Wu,
• Lin Ma and
• Joan Shine Davids

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 190–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.15

• function of cytokines in the immune response of insects using the Bombyx mori silkworm as a model. It was shown that the activation of a paralytic peptide resulted in cellular and humoral immune responses, which contribute to the host defense in the silkworm Bombyx mori [96]. It was also reported that β

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• required subsequent rinsing with ethanol for the cell drying process.” In turn, the pits in the HIM image reveal “the shape of the nanodomains as missing lipid bilayers.” In 2018, HIM was used to study peptide nanostructures for the first time. Herrera et al. studied the initial stages of the

• oligomerisation of the 33-mer peptide gliadin [74]. The HIM data helped the authors to “show a plausible pathway of 33-mer peptide protofilaments formation” via the contact of square-like oligomers and the formation of protofilaments by “longitutinal association of matured rod-like oligomers.” Imaging animals and

Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

• Maria Suciu,
• Corina M. Ionescu,
• Alexandra Ciorita,
• Septimiu C. Tripon,
• Dragos Nica,
• Hani Al-Salami and
• Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1092–1109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.94

• endosomal escape [113][114]. For the specific treatment of cisplatin-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Weng et al. [115] produced SPIONs covered with cisplatin and with TAT peptide (a HIV-derived cell penetrating peptide). Their nanoparticles had an increased endocytosis rate, which, combined with the

• inefficient methodology of use, and inconsistent results [94]. The potential toxicity could be put to a good use, though. Hybrid Fe3O4/Gd2O3 loaded with cisplatin and tagged with lactoferrin and RGD (a cell endocytosis small peptide) was proved in vitro and in vivo to cross the blood–brain barrier and target

A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

• Jonathan Stott and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.78

• Fores et al. The authors realized peptide hydrogels in a porous melamine foam for use in continuous flow chemistry [30]. Other polyelectrolytes such as poly(acrylic acid) were prepared using an ozone-induced grafting process for cellulose fibers [31]. Hydrophobic foams of poly(γ-benzyl-ʟ-glutamate-co-ʟ

• , respectively [64]. Whereas the amide A mode is assigned to an intermolecular hydrogen-bonded NH stretching vibration, the amide B band is due to the "free" NH stretching vibration and amide II to the NH bending motion of the peptide bond. Schultz et al. demonstrated a correlation between the amide I band (C=O

Key for crossing the BBB with nanoparticles: the rational design

• Sonia M. Lombardo,
• Marc Schneider,
• Akif E. Türeli and
• Nazende Günday Türeli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 866–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.72

• cyanoacrylate) (PBCA) nanoparticles developed by Kreuter et al. in 1995. They enabled the successful delivery of the antinociceptive peptide dalargin in vivo [24]. Since then, numerous nanoparticle systems have been studied and optimized for brain delivery of small molecules and peptides [25]. Most of them are

• high, leading to similar transcytosis efficiency as RMT [45][46]. AMT occurs through electrostatic interaction between a positively charged molecule, protein or peptide and the negatively charged luminal membrane of the brain endothelial cells. This process depends on energy, time and concentration and

• . The first reported nanoparticle system able to cross the BBB in vivo was developed by Kreuter and co-workers [24]. In their study, PBCA nanoparticles coated with polysorbate 80 (PS80) were able to successfully deliver dalargin, an antinociceptive peptide unable to cross the BBB by itself. A

Identification of physicochemical properties that modulate nanoparticle aggregation in blood

• Ludovica Soddu,
• Duong N. Trinh,
• Eimear Dunne,
• Dermot Kenny,
• Giorgia Bernardini,
• Ida Kokalari,
• Arianna Marucco,
• Marco P. Monopoli and
• Ivana Fenoglio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 550–567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.44

• ) overnight at 37 °C. The peptides were then extracted from the gel matrix and prepared for MS analysis by using Pierce C18 Tips (Thermo Fisher) following the manufacturer's procedure. The peptide samples were analysed on a quadrupole Orbitrap (Q-Exactive, Thermo Scientific) mass spectrometer equipped with a

Luminescent gold nanoclusters for bioimaging applications

• Nonappa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 533–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.42

• electrostatic interaction was ruled out. Instead, the authors assumed that it might be a specific peptide motif of HSA that interacts with the bacterial cell wall. The trypsin digestion of Au-HSA NCs was studied and various fragments were identified using MALDI–MS. To confirm further whether the peptides can

• peptide capable of penetrating bacterial biofilms with abundant arginine residue. The hydrogen bonding between the MTU ligands on the surface of Au-MTU NCs and the arginine residues in protamine form a supramolecular host–guest complex, i.e., Au-MTU/Prot. The supramolecular host–guest interactions

• as well as cellular apoptosis studies. Lin et al. reported 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUDA)-capped AuNCs (Au-MUDA) as luminescent probes for nuclear targeting and intracellular imaging [86]. The Au-MUDA NCs were conjugated with SV40 (PKKKRKV), a specific peptide for nuclear-localization signal (NLS

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• in multilayer films such as PGA/PLL, PAH/PAAm and hyaluronic acid (HA)/chitosan when one of the polymeric pair is grafted with an arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide sequence [104][105][106]. Similarly, the PLL/PGA film showed better cell attachment when plain PGA was replaced with a laminin

• 5 peptide grafted PGA [107]. The homogeneous adsorption of charged lipids such as dipalmitoyldiphosphatidic acid (DPPA), dipalmitoyldiphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and sphingosine over a capsule surface has been achieved in two ways: 1) the adsorption of lipid vesicles via electrostatic interactions

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of glyco-gold nanoparticles carrying synthetic mycobacterial hexaarabinofuranoside

• Gennady L. Burygin,
• Polina I. Abronina,
• Nikita M. Podvalnyy,
• Sergey A. Staroverov,
• Leonid O. Kononov and
• Lev A. Dykman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 480–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.39

• tetrasaccharide epitope S. pneumonia type 14 without T-helper peptide did not result in the activation of the immune response of the animals (mice) or the production of specific antibodies. The situation is rather complex as our analysis of the literature data on the use of thiol- and amino-containing glyco-GNPs

• of glyco-GNPs bearing the hexasaccharide epitope of LAM/AG for the activation of a specific immune response against carbohydrate antigens in laboratory animals (rabbits). The results are helpful in the development of synthetic protein- and peptide-free glycoconjugate vaccines based on glyco-GNPs. It

Using gold nanoparticles to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms: toward liquid biopsy

• María Sanromán Iglesias and
• Marek Grzelczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 263–284, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.20

• sensitivity of 500 zM, which translates to about ten copies in 30 μL of the sample. To improve the sensitivity of the colorimetric sensors, several groups have proposed to use modified nucleic acids. The most common modified nucleic acids are peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) and locked nucleic acids (LNAs), which

Rational design of block copolymer self-assemblies in photodynamic therapy

• Maxime Demazeau,
• Laure Gibot,
• Anne-Françoise Mingotaud,
• Patricia Vicendo,
• Clément Roux and
• Barbara Lonetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 180–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.15

• PEO-PAsp micelles [146]. A typical recent example describes the introduction of benzylglycidyl ether groups on the hydrophobic backbone of polylactide, in order to improve the loading of aluminium phthalocyanine AlClPc [45]. Using a peptide backbone is another elegant and powerful means to optimize

Molecular architectonics of DNA for functional nanoarchitectures

• Debasis Ghosh,
• Lakshmi P. Datta and
• Thimmaiah Govindaraju

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 124–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.11

• dyes and DNA for the detection of damaged DNA [64]. Apart from biological samples, the identification of volatile organic compounds is another important field gaining the attention of researchers. Hairpin DNA and peptide sequences were integrated in a sensor design strategy to develop an optoelectronic

• demonstrated the design and potential application of SFM-supported DNA nanoarchitectures in sensors and bio-optoelectronics. In another study, we reported a molecular architectonic of adenine (A)- and thymine (T)-appended naphthalenediimide derivatives (NDI-AA and NDI-TT, respectively), with peptide nucleic

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 101–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.10

• membranes of different cell types, while showing low cytotoxicity and no immunological response [6]. This class of peptides was first introduced in the late 1980s, with the discovery of the TAT peptide, encoded by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by Frankel et al. [9], who showed that the TAT

• peptide could enter cells and translocate into the nucleus. The following decade unfolded with the discovery of the neuronal cell internalization of penetratin, the first ever CPP. Penetratin was derived from the third helix of the homeodomain of Drosophila antennapedia. This discovery was closely

• followed by the development of two peptides used for the noncovalent delivery of proteins and peptides, MPG and Pep-1 [10]. Today, we have a myriad of CPPs and databases which allow one to browse existing CPPs based on chemical modifications, category, cargo or peptide lengths [6]. Classification of cell

Long-term stability and scale-up of noncovalently bound gold nanoparticle-siRNA suspensions

• Anna V. Epanchintseva,
• Julia E. Poletaeva,
• Dmitrii V. Pyshnyi,
• Elena I. Ryabchikova and
• Inna A. Pyshnaya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2568–2578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.248

• ; however, it occupies an important place in scientific research. The delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids (TNAs) is of particular importance due to their operation at the genomic level, and various nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied as carriers of TNAs (i.e., metallic, lipid, polymer, and peptide NPs

• nucleic acids [18][19][20][21]. Then, we used AuNP-siRNA as a core for nanoconstruction by covering this with a lipid envelope and doping with an amphiphilic peptide. The construction was shown to penetrate cells that consistently expressed the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and effectively suppress the

Bombesin receptor-targeted liposomes for enhanced delivery to lung cancer cells

• Mohammad J. Akbar,
• Pâmela C. Lukasewicz Ferreira,
• Melania Giorgetti,
• Leanne Stokes and
• Christopher J. Morris

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2553–2562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.246

• Mohammad J. Akbar Pamela C. Lukasewicz Ferreira Melania Giorgetti Leanne Stokes Christopher J. Morris School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK 10.3762/bjnano.10.246 Abstract Background: Gastrin-releasing peptide is a member of the bombesin family of peptides. Its cognate

• receptor, gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), is widely expressed in cancers of the lung, pancreas and ovaries. Gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) is an autocrine growth factor in small cell lung cancer, which has very poor patient outcomes. High affinity antagonist peptides have been developed for in

• vivo cancer imaging. In this report we decorated pegylated liposomes with a GRPR antagonist peptide and studied its interaction with, and accumulation within, lung cancer cells. Results: An N-terminally cysteine modified GRPR antagonist (termed cystabn) was synthesised and shown to inhibit cell growth