Self-assembled peptide nanostructures for functional materials

Nature is an important inspirational source for scientists, and presents complex and elegant examples of adaptive and intelligent systems created by self-assembly. Significant effort has been devoted to understanding these sophisticated systems. The self-assembly process enables us to create supramolecular nanostructures with high order and complexity, and peptide-based self-assembling building blocks can serve as suitable platforms to construct nanostructures showing diverse features and applications. In this review, peptide-based supramolecular assemblies will be discussed in terms of their synthesis, design, characterization and application. Peptide nanostructures are categorized based on their chemical and physical properties and will be examined by rationalizing the influence of peptide design on the resulting morphology and the methods employed to characterize these high order complex systems. Moreover, the application of self-assembled peptide nanomaterials as functional materials in information technologies and environmental sciences will be reviewed by providing examples from recently published high-impact studies. � 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd

Presentation of functional groups on self-assembled supramolecular peptide nanofibers mimicking glycosaminoglycans for directed mesenchymal stem cell differentiation

Organizational complexity and functional diversity of the extracellular matrix regulate cellular behaviors. The extracellular matrix is composed of various proteins in the form of proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and nanofibers whose types and combinations change depending on the tissue type. Proteoglycans, which are proteins that are covalently attached to glycosaminoglycans, contribute to the complexity of the microenvironment of the cells. The sulfation degree of the glycosaminoglycans is an important and distinct feature at specific developmental stages and tissue types. Peptide amphiphile nanofibers can mimic natural glycosaminoglycans and/or proteoglycans, and they form a synthetic nanofibrous microenvironment where cells can proliferate and differentiate towards different lineages. In this study, peptide nanofibers were used to provide varying degrees of sulfonation mimicking the natural glycosaminoglycans by forming a microenvironment for the survival and differentiation of stem cells. The effects of glucose, carboxylate, and sulfonate groups on the peptide nanofibers were investigated by considering the changes in the differentiation profiles of rat mesenchymal stem cells in the absence of any specific differentiation inducers in the culture medium. The results showed that a higher sulfonate-to-glucose ratio is associated with adipogenic differentiation and a higher carboxylate-to-glucose ratio is associated with osteochondrogenic differentiation of the rat mesenchymal stem cells. Overall, these results demonstrate that supramolecular peptide nanosystems can be used to understand the fine-tunings of the extracellular matrix such as sulfation profile on specific cell types. © 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Amphiphilic peptide coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for: In vivo MR tumor imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive imaging technique that provides high spatial resolution and depth with pronounced soft-tissue contrast for in vivo imaging. A broad variety of strategies have been employed to enhance the diagnostic value of MRI and detect tissue abnormalities at an earlier stage. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are considered to be suitable candidates for effective imaging due to their small size, versatile functionality and better biocompatibility. Here, we demonstrate that coating SPIONs with proline-rich amphiphilic peptide molecules through noncovalent interactions leads to a water-dispersed hybrid system suitable as an MRI contrast agent. Cellular viability and uptake of amphiphilic peptide coated SPIONs (SPION/K-PA) were evaluated with human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) and estrogen receptor (ER) positive human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells. The efficiency of SPION/K-PA as MRI contrast agents was analyzed in Sprague-Dawley rats with mammary gland tumors. MR imaging showed that SPION/K-PA effectively accumulated in tumor tissues, enhancing their imaging potential. Although nanoparticles were observed in reticuloendothelial system organs (RES) and especially in the liver and kidney immediately after administration, the MR signal intensity in these organs diminished after 1 h and nanoparticles were subsequently cleared from these organs within two weeks. Histological observations also validated the accumulation of nanoparticles in tumor tissue at 4 h and their bioelimination from the organs of both healthy and tumor-bearing rats after two weeks. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically