Gram-scale synthesis of splat-shaped Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposites for enhanced antimicrobial properties

• Mohammad Jaber,
• Asim Mushtaq,
• Kebiao Zhang,
• Jindan Wu,
• Dandan Luo,
• Zihan Yi,
• M. Zubair Iqbal and
• Xiangdong Kong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1119–1125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.96

• antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are highly toxic [4][5]. Recently, research in the field of nanotechnology has focused on trying to find solutions for some of the most serious environmental issues, such as energy conversion, and for the optimization of biomedical applications. Their small size, shape variability

A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

• Jonathan Stott and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.78

• provide additional information about the secondary structure of the grafted polypeptides on the outer surface. Usually secondary structure of peptides can be easily detected by IR due the position of the amide I band (C=O) [50][51][58][59][60][61][62][63]. However, a proper contact of the functionalized

Key for crossing the BBB with nanoparticles: the rational design

• Sonia M. Lombardo,
• Marc Schneider,
• Akif E. Türeli and
• Nazende Günday Türeli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 866–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.72

• cyanoacrylate) (PBCA) nanoparticles developed by Kreuter et al. in 1995. They enabled the successful delivery of the antinociceptive peptide dalargin in vivo [24]. Since then, numerous nanoparticle systems have been studied and optimized for brain delivery of small molecules and peptides [25]. Most of them are

• for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) [28][91][92][93][94][96]. It is also possible to cross the BBB by targeting active transporters such as the thiamine or glutathione transporters [98][99][100]. Some more advanced techniques have also been developed to find new targeting peptides for the BBB

• , such as the phage-display technique. This technique is an effective method for isolating novel peptides with specific binding properties. DNA sequences are inserted into bacteriophage genes, resulting in the expression of the encoded proteins on their surface. Biopanning is then used to isolate and

Identification of physicochemical properties that modulate nanoparticle aggregation in blood

• Ludovica Soddu,
• Duong N. Trinh,
• Eimear Dunne,
• Dermot Kenny,
• Giorgia Bernardini,
• Ida Kokalari,
• Arianna Marucco,
• Marco P. Monopoli and
• Ivana Fenoglio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 550–567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.44

• ) overnight at 37 °C. The peptides were then extracted from the gel matrix and prepared for MS analysis by using Pierce C18 Tips (Thermo Fisher) following the manufacturer's procedure. The peptide samples were analysed on a quadrupole Orbitrap (Q-Exactive, Thermo Scientific) mass spectrometer equipped with a

• and protein N-terminal acetylation. A maximum of two missed trypsin cleavages were allowed in the database search. The false discovery rate for both peptides and proteins was set at 1%. After that, the ProteinGroup file from Maxquant was processed, filtered and analysed with Perseus software to

Luminescent gold nanoclusters for bioimaging applications

• Nonappa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 533–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.42

• as ionic polymers, proteins or peptides [74][75][76]. Recently, Dichiarante et al. reported NIR-luminescent AuNCs bearing superfluorinated (SF) ligands with strong emission at 1050 nm with a quantum yield of 12% [77]. An extensive account of the PL of NCs is beyond the scope of this review and has

• electrostatic interaction was ruled out. Instead, the authors assumed that it might be a specific peptide motif of HSA that interacts with the bacterial cell wall. The trypsin digestion of Au-HSA NCs was studied and various fragments were identified using MALDI–MS. To confirm further whether the peptides can

• peptides are responsible for binding. However, there was no significant binding with only one of the peptides or only HSA. Similarly, sufficient binding was not observed when a control experiment was performed with Au-BSA NCs. The above experiments suggest that in Au-HSA NCs, HSA might adopt a conformation

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• multilayer capsules as drug delivery vehicles [17]. They are capable of encapsulating all kinds of substances and/or molecules ranging from enzymes, nucleic acid, peptides, proteins, therapeutic drugs, biomolecules, fluorescent molecules and nanoparticles (NPs) in their hollow cavity [18]. This can be

• NPs, magnetic NPs, click moieties, smart polymers and biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, and enzymes. Nanoparticle incorporation When NPs are embedded into the multilayer shell, the translocation, guiding and release of encapsulated cargo from the capsule is enabled by selectively

• such as proteins (e.g., antibodies, peptides, receptor molecules, etc.), lipids and carbohydrates have long been used for targeted delivery. The attachment of these ligands to the external multilayers can be achieved by covalent as well as noncovalent interactions. For example, the HuA33 antibody

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of glyco-gold nanoparticles carrying synthetic mycobacterial hexaarabinofuranoside

• Gennady L. Burygin,
• Polina I. Abronina,
• Nikita M. Podvalnyy,
• Sergey A. Staroverov,
• Leonid O. Kononov and
• Lev A. Dykman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 480–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.39

• yet. Indeed, the direct conjugation of amino-functionalized antigenic glycans with pre-formed GNPs has not been reported yet, to the best of our knowledge. This is despite the fact that simple amines, amino acids and peptides [68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78], as well as diethylaminoethyl

• to prepare specific antibodies against carbohydrate antigens or epitopes of the bacterial pathogens S. pneumonia and B. mallei in combination with peptides or proteins that activated the immune response. Safari et al. [33][34] showed that the immunization of mice with glyco-GNPs containing the

• peptides/proteins). A low-molecular-mass glycan (hapten) alone, i.e., without carrier, cannot induce a cellular immune response and a possible specific immune response induced by the unconjugated hapten would be minimal and hardly detected. Fallarini et al. [113] showed that the nanoconjugates are taken up

Interactions at the cell membrane and pathways of internalization of nano-sized materials for nanomedicine

• Valentina Francia,
• Daphne Montizaan and
• Anna Salvati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 338–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.25

• the cell membrane and the potential interaction with cell receptors (Figure 1). In order to control and affect these first events, nano-sized carriers can be modified with targeting moieties, such as peptides, proteins, or antibodies to specifically recognize receptors on the cell surface to achieve

Rational design of block copolymer self-assemblies in photodynamic therapy

• Maxime Demazeau,
• Laure Gibot,
• Anne-Françoise Mingotaud,
• Patricia Vicendo,
• Clément Roux and
• Barbara Lonetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 180–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.15

• , part 1 of this review showed the large variety of polymers used for PDT, going from aliphatic polyesters, polyacrylates to peptides or polysaccharides. The chemical structure will influence the crystallinity of the vector, its morphology (micelles, vesicles, or worm-like micelles), its stability ((bio

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 101–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.10

• Ivana Ruseska Andreas Zimmer Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria 10.3762/bjnano.11.10 Abstract In today’s modern era of medicine, macromolecular compounds such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids

• are dethroning small molecules as leading therapeutics. Given their immense potential, they are highly sought after. However, their application is limited mostly due to their poor in vivo stability, limited cellular uptake and insufficient target specificity. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) represent

• a major breakthrough for the transport of macromolecules. They have been shown to successfully deliver proteins, peptides, siRNAs and pDNA in different cell types. In general, CPPs are basic peptides with a positive charge at physiological pH. They are able to translocate membranes and gain entry to

Bombesin receptor-targeted liposomes for enhanced delivery to lung cancer cells

• Mohammad J. Akbar,
• Pâmela C. Lukasewicz Ferreira,
• Melania Giorgetti,
• Leanne Stokes and
• Christopher J. Morris

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2553–2562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.246

• Mohammad J. Akbar Pamela C. Lukasewicz Ferreira Melania Giorgetti Leanne Stokes Christopher J. Morris School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK 10.3762/bjnano.10.246 Abstract Background: Gastrin-releasing peptide is a member of the bombesin family of peptides. Its cognate

• receptor, gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), is widely expressed in cancers of the lung, pancreas and ovaries. Gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) is an autocrine growth factor in small cell lung cancer, which has very poor patient outcomes. High affinity antagonist peptides have been developed for in

• . Flow cytometric and microscopic studies showed that fluorescently labelled cystabn-decorated liposomes accumulated more extensively in GRPR over-expressing cells than matched liposomes that contained no cystabn targeting motif. Conclusion: The use of GRPR antagonistic peptides for nanoparticle

Coating of upconversion nanoparticles with silica nanoshells of 5–250 nm thickness

• Cynthia Kembuan,
• Maysoon Saleh,
• Bastian Rühle,
• Ute Resch-Genger and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2410–2421, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.231

• such as peptides, antibodies or nucleic acids for bioimaging applications or fluorescence assays. The growth of a mesoporous silica shell on a microporous silica shell can also be applied for the subsequent use of these nanomaterials for drug loading and delivery [69]. Experimental All syntheses were

Review of advanced sensor devices employing nanoarchitectonics concepts

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Tatsuyuki Makita,
• Masato Ito,
• Taizo Mori,
• Shun Watanabe and
• Jun Takeya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2014–2030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.198

• biomolecules including amino acids [156], peptides [157][158][159], sugars [160][161], nucleic acid bases [162][163], and nucleotides [164][165][166] at well-designed interfacial environments. In order to design and fabricate sensors with better performance, interfacial nanoarchitectonics should be crucial

High-tolerance crystalline hydrogels formed from self-assembling cyclic dipeptide

• Yongcai You,
• Ruirui Xing,
• Qianli Zou,
• Feng Shi and
• Xuehai Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1894–1901, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.184

• materials have shown outstanding characteristics, such as excellent biocompatibility, structural flexibility, versatile functionality, and low immunogenicity [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Peptides can be deliberately engineered to self-assemble into well-ordered

• on the basic structures of heterocyclic 2,5-diketopiperazines, are a special kind of dipeptides. They are the smallest cyclic peptides and contain six-membered heterocyclic lactam ring cores. CDPs exhibit exceptional structural rigidity, stability, as well as biological activity as compared to their

• properties The rheological properties of hydrogels are key evaluation indicators for a variety of applications [50][51]. It is typically challenging for hydrogels based on linear peptides to maintain their original gel state for a long time or under shear force. Driven by a thermodynamic process, they tend

Engineered superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for dual-modality imaging of intracranial glioblastoma via EGFRvIII targeting

• Xianping Liu,
• Chengjuan Du,
• Haichun Li,
• Ting Jiang,
• Zimiao Luo,
• Zhiqing Pang,
• Daoying Geng and
• Jun Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1860–1872, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.181

• peptide on PNPs was calculated to be as high as 45.3%. Under our experimental conditions, it could be calculated that there were 240 PEPHC1 peptides for each PNP. The T2-weighted MR images of the PNP nanoprobes were evaluated in vitro with a 3.0 T clinical MRI scanner. As demonstrated in Figure 2a, the MR

Biocatalytic oligomerization-induced self-assembly of crystalline cellulose oligomers into nanoribbon networks assisted by organic solvents

• Yuuki Hata,
• Yuka Fukaya,
• Toshiki Sawada,
• Masahito Nishiura and
• Takeshi Serizawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1778–1788, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.173

• harmonization of mutual interactions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Such harmonized mechanisms are found ubiquitously in biological systems consisting of a huge number of components; biomolecules, such as DNAs and peptides, and even living cells have therefore attracted considerable attention in

Chiral nanostructures self-assembled from nitrocinnamic amide amphiphiles: substituent and solvent effects

• Hejin Jiang,
• Huahua Fan,
• Yuqian Jiang,
• Li Zhang and
• Minghua Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1608–1617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.156

• of living matter and perhaps even a requirement for life [1][2]. For example, the α-helix of peptides, the DNA double helix, and the triple helix of collagens are vital biological structures. It is an important issue to understand how such chiral nanostructures can be formed from simple small

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• Liu and co-workers [131]), and supramolecular assemblies with short peptides and their bio-functions (by Yan and co-workers [132]) have been investigated. As examples of research efforts regarding two-dimensional nanoarchitectures, the enhanced reduction of nitrogen oxides by facet-engineered two

• ]. Although molecular recognition via hydrogen bonding are quite difficult in a highly polar aqueous media, the molecular recognition of sugars [145][146], peptides [147][148][149], amino acids [150], nucleic acid bases [151][152], and nucleotides [153][154] is accomplishable at the air–water interface even

Enhanced inhibition of influenza virus infection by peptide–noble-metal nanoparticle conjugates

• Zaid K. Alghrair,
• David G. Fernig and
• Bahram Ebrahimi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1038–1047, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.104

• enhanced antiviral activity compared to the free peptides. The IC50 value of the FluPep-functionalised nanoparticles decreased as the grafting density of FluPep ligand increased from 0.03% to 5% (both mol/mol), with IC50 values down to about 10% of that of the corresponding free peptide. The data

• demonstrate that conjugation of FluPep to gold and silver nanoparticles enhances its antiviral potency; the antimicrobial activity of silver ions may enable the design of even more potent antimicrobial inhibitors, capable of targeting both influenza and bacterial co-infections. Keywords: antiviral peptides

• therapeutic use of other antiviral peptides has been demonstrated in HIV [8][9], hepatitis C [10], herpes simplex [11][12], influenza virus [13][14][15]. The infectivity of influenza A viruses, including the H1N1 subtype, is strongly inhibited by a peptide called FluPep [15]. FluPep was originally identified

Serum type and concentration both affect the protein-corona composition of PLGA nanoparticles

• Katrin Partikel,
• Robin Korte,
• Dennis Mulac,
• Hans-Ulrich Humpf and
• Klaus Langer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1002–1015, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.101

• human serum indicate a higher level of cationic proteins in the corona (Figure 3 and Figure 4) [28]. Additionally, the hard-corona proteins were identified by a shotgun proteomics-based approach. The adsorbed proteins were tryptically digested and the resulting peptides were analyzed by LC–MS/MS and

• the standard technique for the investigation of complex protein mixtures in recent years. Following tryptic digestion of the proteins, peptides were identified using LC–MS/MS on an orbitrap-based mass spectrometer and software-based data evaluation to interpret the peptide fragmentation data. In this

• spectrometry To prepare for a successful mass spectrometric analysis of the peptides the samples were purified by solid-phase extraction in order to remove salts and undesired impurities. Briefly, StrataTM-X 33u RP 30 mg/1 mL columns (Phenomenex, Aschaffenburg, Germany) were sequentially activated and

Polydopamine-coated Au nanorods for targeted fluorescent cell imaging and photothermal therapy

• Boris N. Khlebtsov,
• Andrey M. Burov,
• Timofey E. Pylaev and
• Nikolai G. Khlebtsov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 794–803, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.79

• capacity for various cargo molecules such as drugs or photodynamic dyes. Third, the coating should have functional groups and be ready for click conjugation with target or “shadowing” molecules, e.g., antibodies, peptides, folates and PEG. Finally, the AuNR coating procedure should be robust and provide a

Targeting strategies for improving the efficacy of nanomedicine in oncology

• Gonzalo Villaverde and
• Alejandro Baeza

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 168–181, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.16

• occurs without any loss of the antibody binding capacity. Unfortunately, the use of antibodies as targeting moieties has an important drawback, which is the possibility to trigger immune responses due to the uncontrolled exposition of immunogenic regions (as Fc) on the particle surface. Peptides are

• the action of a cell surface-associated protease exposing the RGD, which then binds to neuropilin-1 triggering the particle endocytosis. Another cell-penetrating peptide (or CPP, which is the usual name of the peptides used for targeting purposes in nanomedicine) closely related to RGD is the

• vacuolating virus 40 (SV40), GRKKRRQRRRPQ in the TAT peptide present in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or KRPAATKKAGQAKKKKL in the case of nucleoplasmin [45]. These peptides have been anchored on the surface of different nanocarriers providing excellent results [46]. The aptamer AS1411 selective for

A comparison of tarsal morphology and traction force in the two burying beetles Nicrophorus nepalensis and Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera, Silphidae)

• Liesa Schnee,
• Benjamin Sampalla,
• Josef K. Müller and
• Oliver Betz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 47–61, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.5

• fraction has been investigated so far, polar components such as proteins/peptides and carbohydrates might contribute to its amphiphilic property. Directionality of friction force Our nanotribometer experiments (performed on the fore tarsi) clearly revealed a direction-dependent (anisotropic) friction

Nanoscale characterization of the temporary adhesive of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

• Ana S. Viana and
• Romana Santos

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2277–2286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.212

• groove typically found on the surface of amyloid fibrils. Therefore, besides binding to amyloid proteins and peptides, thioflavin-T can also bind DNA, some polysaccharides and β-sheet-rich proteins [25]. Taken together, our results stress the importance of probing marine adhesives under native conditions

Colorimetric detection of Cu²⁺ based on the formation of peptide–copper complexes on silver nanoparticle surfaces

• Gajanan Sampatrao Ghodake,
• Surendra Krishna Shinde,
• Rijuta Ganesh Saratale,
• Avinash Ashok Kadam,
• Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale,
• Asad Syed,
• Fuad Ameen and
• Dae-Young Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1414–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.134

• typical experiment, casein peptide-modified AgNPs were prepared by reduction of AgNO3 and the functionality of the AgNP–peptide conjugates to coordinate Cu2+ was improved by removing unbound casein peptides. Highly dispersed and stable 20 nm diameter AgNPs had an extinction peak at about 410 nm with a

• peak in the UV–vis spectra at approximately 410–420 nm. The wavelength of maximum absorbance (λmax) can be used to determine the approximate concentration and the size range of the stable AgNPs. Herein, synthesis of AgNPs was performed using just 0.06% (w/v) casein peptides in the solution, to

• casein peptides (Figure 1a). The minor red-shift (from 400 to 410 nm) and changes in the SPR peak width are indicative of the stable and dispersed nature of the AgNPs. Both peaks remained narrow, indicating a more homogeneous size distribution. Moreover, the absorption measurements revealed the stability