Student Major/Year in School
Medical-Biochemistry, Senior
Faculty Mentor Information
John Tomich, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University
Abstract
In recent years, nanocarrier cellular therapy has been a rapidly growing area for research in the treatment of malignant and infectious diseases – most notably cancer. Conventional cancer treatment has consisted of highly toxic, highly insoluble, untargeted delivery of drugs that kill both cancerous and healthy cells. Research in the Tomich lab consists of the synthesis of Branched Amphiphilic Peptide Capsules (BAPCs), which are self-assembling peptide nanospheres composed of one or both of these branched peptide sequences: h5 and h9. These peptides possess similar molecular characteristics of phosphoglycerides but are synthesized chemically within the lab. Previous publications by the Tomich group have demonstrated that BAPCs are stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Here, we further explore the ability of BAPCs to retain their nanosphere shape and encapsulated solutes at varying DMSO (dimethyl-sulfoxide) concentrations (0%, 10%, and 25%) and pH (3.5, 7.5, 8.5) levels. Using this framework, we will attach a short peptide to the outside of the BAPCs using reversible disulfide linkages. This coupling will be followed using Ellman’s reagent as a quantitative measurement for reduced versus oxidized cysteines and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Data presented here will show which conditions most favorably contribute to the disulfide formation between the BAPC and the peptide in the presence of DMSO. Upon cellular uptake, the reducing environment of the cell’s interior will release the peptide. With the changing face of diseases and medicine, the ability to attach and encapsulate molecules of interest onto and within BAPCs opens the door to many other therapeutic possibilities. This suggests that BAPCs can be an attractive biocompatible carrier for the delivery of various cancer therapy drugs.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Claro-Martinez, Baltazar (2019). "PEPTIDE CONJUGATION OF BRANCHED AMPHIPHILIC PEPTIDE CAPSULES," Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/ksuugradresearch/2019/posters/55
Included in
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins Commons, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons, Nanotechnology Commons
PEPTIDE CONJUGATION OF BRANCHED AMPHIPHILIC PEPTIDE CAPSULES
In recent years, nanocarrier cellular therapy has been a rapidly growing area for research in the treatment of malignant and infectious diseases – most notably cancer. Conventional cancer treatment has consisted of highly toxic, highly insoluble, untargeted delivery of drugs that kill both cancerous and healthy cells. Research in the Tomich lab consists of the synthesis of Branched Amphiphilic Peptide Capsules (BAPCs), which are self-assembling peptide nanospheres composed of one or both of these branched peptide sequences: h5 and h9. These peptides possess similar molecular characteristics of phosphoglycerides but are synthesized chemically within the lab. Previous publications by the Tomich group have demonstrated that BAPCs are stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Here, we further explore the ability of BAPCs to retain their nanosphere shape and encapsulated solutes at varying DMSO (dimethyl-sulfoxide) concentrations (0%, 10%, and 25%) and pH (3.5, 7.5, 8.5) levels. Using this framework, we will attach a short peptide to the outside of the BAPCs using reversible disulfide linkages. This coupling will be followed using Ellman’s reagent as a quantitative measurement for reduced versus oxidized cysteines and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Data presented here will show which conditions most favorably contribute to the disulfide formation between the BAPC and the peptide in the presence of DMSO. Upon cellular uptake, the reducing environment of the cell’s interior will release the peptide. With the changing face of diseases and medicine, the ability to attach and encapsulate molecules of interest onto and within BAPCs opens the door to many other therapeutic possibilities. This suggests that BAPCs can be an attractive biocompatible carrier for the delivery of various cancer therapy drugs.
