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Heterochiral peptide-based biocompatible and injectable supramolecular hydrogel with antibacterial activity

  • Materials for life sciences
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Abstract

The bacterial infection has a significant impact on the human health. With the widespread use of antibiotics, the bacterial resistance has increased significantly, which necessitates the urgent identification of novel antibacterial materials. In this study, a hydrogel with an inherent antibacterial ability, self-assembled from a heterochiral peptide C16-DL4LR4, has been reported. The hydrogel demonstrated optimal rheological and injectable properties. It revealed a time-dependent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis as well as Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Shigella sonnei. After 5 h treatment with the hydrogel, the survival rate of S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and Sh. sonnei bacteria was decreased to 5.9%, 0%, 5.3% and 11.09%, respectively. The chiral nanofibers with a diameter of 15–20 nm in the hydrogel were observed to be conducive to the aggregation of bacteria and destruction of the cell membrane to achieve the antibacterial effect. In addition, the in vitro analysis on the mouse embryonic fibroblasts confirmed the superior biocompatibility of the hydrogel. The results obtained in this study provide the basis for the development of the functional antibacterial hydrogels by the self-assembly of the heterochiral peptides.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Scientific Research Plan Project of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission (Nos. 2018KJ121).

Funding

Scientific Research Plan Project of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission,2018KJ121,Yan-Yan Xie

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Yan Xie, Xue-Qi Wang, Mei-Yan Sun, Xiao-Tong Qin, Xiao-Feng Su, Cheng Zhong & Shi-Ru Jia

  2. Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Yan Xie, Xue-Qi Wang, Mei-Yan Sun, Xiao-Tong Qin, Xiao-Feng Su, Cheng Zhong & Shi-Ru Jia

  3. Central Laboratory, The Fifth Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao-Fang Ma & Xiao-Zhi Liu

  4. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Epigenetics for Organ Development of Premature Infants, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao-Fang Ma & Xiao-Zhi Liu

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  1. Yan-Yan Xie
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Correspondence to Cheng Zhong.

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Xie, YY., Wang, XQ., Sun, MY. et al. Heterochiral peptide-based biocompatible and injectable supramolecular hydrogel with antibacterial activity. J Mater Sci 57, 5198–5209 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-06982-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-06982-7

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