Peptide-Stabilized Emulsions and Gels from an Arginine-Rich Surfactant-like Peptide with Antimicrobial Activity.

ABSTRACT: The preparation of hydrogels and stable emulsions is important in the formulation of many functional nanostructured soft materials. We investigate the multifunctional self-assembly and bioactivity properties of a novel surfactant-like peptide (SLP) that shows antimicrobial activity, is able to form hydrogels without pH adjustment, and is able to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions. Furthermore, we demonstrate on-demand de-emulsification in response to the protease enzyme elastase. We show that SLP (Ala)₉-Arg (A₉R) forms β-sheet fibers above a critical aggregation concentration and that water-in-oil emulsions are stabilized by a coating of β-sheet fibers around the emulsion droplets. Furthermore, we demonstrate enzyme-responsive de-emulsification, which has potential in t

SUBMITTER: Castelletto V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7005944 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature