Disclosed are peptides that contain up to about 35 amino acids, including a plurality of aromatic amino acid residues and either (i) an amino acid residue that is phosphorylated or sulfated, or (ii) an amino acid comprising an ester-moiety linked via peptide bond, or both (i) and (ii), wherein the peptide is capable of self-assembly to form nanofibrils in the presence of an enzyme that hydrolyzes the phosphate group, the sulfate group, or the ester-moiety. These peptides are enzymatically responsive hydrogelators, and they can be used to form pericellular hydrogels/nanofibrils upon exposure to target cells that secrete or express a surface bound ectoenzyme having hydrolase activity suitable to induce peptide gelation. These materials, and compositions containing the same, can be used for in vitro and in vivo cellular imaging, treating cancerous conditions, collecting a secretome from a cell upon which the pericellular hydrogels/nanofibrils form, and screening the collected secretome.
已公开的
多肽含有多达约 35 个
氨基酸,包括多个芳香族
氨基酸残基和 (i)
磷酸化或
硫酸化的
氨基酸残基,或 (ii) 包含通过肽键连接的酯基的
氨基酸,或 (i) 和 (ii) 两者,其中
多肽能够在
水解
磷酸基、
硫酸基或酯基的酶存在下自组装形成纳米纤维。这些肽是酶反应性
水凝胶剂,当暴露于分泌或表达具有
水解酶活性的表面结合外切酶的靶细胞时,可形成细胞周
水凝胶/纳米纤维。这些材料和含有这些材料的组合物可用于体外和体内细胞成像、治疗癌症、从形成细胞周
水凝胶/纳米纤维的细胞中收集分泌物组,以及筛选所收集的分泌物组。