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Title: Design of a shear-thinning recoverable peptide hydrogel from native sequences and application for influenza H1N1 vaccine adjuvant

Journal Article · · Soft Matter
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C1SM05157A· OSTI ID:1029052

Peptide hydrogels are considered injectable materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Most published hydrogel-forming sequences contain either alternating-charged and noncharged residues or amphiphilic blocks. Here, we report a self-assembling peptide, h9e (FLIVIGSIIGPGGDGPGGD), designed by rationally combining two native sequences from an elastic segment of spider silk and a trans-membrane segment of human muscle L-type calcium channel. The turning segment GSII of h9e promoted hydrogel formation in both Ca2+ solution and acidic pH conditions at water content greater than 99.5%. Although h9e Ca2+ hydrogel and h9e acidic hydrogel have the same sequence, they have distinct physical properties. The shear-thinning, rapid-strengthrecovering h9e Ca2+ hydrogel was used as an H1N1 influenza vaccine adjuvant. The h9e adjuvant was biologically safe and improved immune response by 70% compared with an oil-based commercial adjuvant.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1029052
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-83307; 38796; KP1704020; TRN: US201122%%683
Journal Information:
Soft Matter, Vol. 7, Issue 19
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English