Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » ABADRU » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #283422
Title: Design of a shear-thinning recoverable peptide hydrogel from native sequences and application for influenza H1N1 vaccine adjuvant

Author
item HUANG, HONGZHOU - Kansas State University
item SHI, JISHU - Kansas State University
item LASKIN, JULIA - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item LIU, ZIYAN - Kansas State University
item McVey, David
item SUN, XIUZHI - Kansas State University

Submitted to: Soft Matters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2011
Publication Date: 7/21/2011
Citation: Huang, H., Shi, J., Laskin, J., Liu, Z., Mcvey, D.S., Sun, X.S. 2011. Design of a shear-thinning recoverable peptide hydrogel from native sequences and application for influenza H1N1 vaccine adjuvant. Soft Matters.

Interpretive Summary: A self-assembling peptide was designed and synthesized 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 peptide forms two distinct hydrogels in Ca2+ solution and acidic pH conditions. The shear-thinning, rapid-strength-recovering Ca2+ hydrogel has great potential for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications, for example, as an H1N1 influenza vaccine adjuvant.

Technical Abstract: 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-strength-recovering 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.