Stable macroscopic membranes formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides and uses therefor
First Claim
1. A drug delivery system comprising:
- membranes formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, wherein the peptides have alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, are complementary and structurally compatible, and self-assemble in the presence of a monovalent cation; and
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a drug.
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Abstract
Described herein is the self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, i.e., peptides with alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues, into macroscopic membranes. The membrane-forming peptides are greater than 12 amino acids in length, and preferably at least 16 amino acids, are complementary and are structurally compatible. Specifically, two peptides, (AEAEAKAK)2 (ARARADAD)2, were shown to self-assemble into macroscopic membranes. Conditions under which the peptides self-assemble into macroscopic membranes and methods for producing the membranes are also described. The macroscopic membranes have several interesting properties: they are stable in aqueous solution, serum, and ethanol, are highly resistant to heat, alkaline and acidic pH, chemical denaturants, and proteolytic digestion, and are non-cytotoxic. The membranes are potentially useful in biomaterial applications such as slow-diffusion drug delivery systems, artificial skin, and separation matrices, and as experimental models for Alzheimer'"'"'s disease and scrapie infection. The sequence of the peptide, EAK16, was derived from a putative Z-DNA binding protein from yeast, called zuotin. The cloning and characterization of the ZUO1 gene are also described.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A drug delivery system comprising:
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membranes formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, wherein the peptides have alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, are complementary and structurally compatible, and self-assemble in the presence of a monovalent cation; and
;a drug. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A cell culture system comprising:
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membranes formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, wherein the peptides have alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, are complementary and structurally compatible; and a cell culture vessel. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of culturing cells comprising steps of:
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stacking membranes formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, wherein the peptides have alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids and are complementary and structurally compatible, in a tissue culture vessel in the presence of culture medium, wherein cells adhere to the surfaces of the membranes; and maintaining the cells under conditions suitable for growth. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of treating a subject comprising the step of:
introducing a composition comprising amphiphilic peptides, wherein the peptides have alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, are complementary and structurally compatible, and self-assemble to form a beta-sheet structure in the presence of a monovalent cation, into the subject. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
Specification