Protein-responsive protein release of supramolecular/polymer hydrogel composite integrating enzyme activation systems

抗体に応答してバイオ医薬を自律的に放出する機能性ゲルを開発 --体内埋め込み型の新たな医療用ソフトデバイスとして期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-08-03.Non-enzymatic proteins including antibodies function as biomarkers and are used as biopharmaceuticals in several diseases. Protein-responsive soft materials capable of the controlled release of drugs and proteins have potential for use in next-generation diagnosis and therapies. Here, we describe a supramolecular/agarose hydrogel composite that can release a protein in response to a non-enzymatic protein. A non-enzymatic protein-responsive system is developed by hybridization of an enzyme-sensitive supramolecular hydrogel with a protein-triggered enzyme activation set. In situ imaging shows that the supramolecular/agarose hydrogel composite consists of orthogonal domains of supramolecular fibers and agarose, which play distinct roles in protein entrapment and mechanical stiffness, respectively. Integrating the enzyme activation set with the composite allows for controlled release of the embedded RNase in response to an antibody. Such composite hydrogels would be promising as a matrix embedded in a body, which can autonomously release biopharmaceuticals by sensing biomarker proteins