Cationic homopolypeptides: A versatile tool to design multifunctional antimicrobial nanocoatings.

Postoperative infections are the most common complications faced by surgeons after implant surgery. To address this issue, an emerging and promising approach is to develop antimicrobial coatings using antibiotic substitutes. We investigated the use of polycationic homopolypeptides in a layer-by-layer coating combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) to produce an effective antimicrobial shield.

Advancing Artificial Cells with Functional Compartmentalized Polymeric Systems - In Honor of Wolfgang Meier.

The fundamental building block of living organisms is the cell, which is the universal biological base of all living entities. This micrometric mass of cytoplasm and the membrane border have fascinated scientists due to the highly complex and multicompartmentalized structure. This specific organization enables numerous metabolic reactions to occur simultaneously and in segregated spaces, without disturbing each other, but with a promotion of inter- and intracellular communication of biomolecules.

Protocells Featuring Membrane-Bound and Dynamic Membraneless Organelles.

Living cells, especially eukaryotic ones, use multicompartmentalization to regulate intra- and extracellular activities, featuring membrane-bound and membraneless organelles. These structures govern numerous biological and chemical processes spatially and temporally. Synthetic cell models, primarily utilizing lipidic and polymeric vesicles, have been developed to carry out cascade reactions within their compartments.

Controlling polymersome size through microfluidic-assisted self-assembly: Enabling 'ready to use' formulations for biological applications.

The self-assembly of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(trimethylene carbonate) PEG-b-PTMC copolymers into vesicles, also referred as polymersomes, was evaluated by solvent displacement using microfluidic systems. Two microfluidic chips with different flow regimes (micromixer and Herringbone) were used and the impact of process conditions on vesicle formation was evaluated. As polymersomes are sensitive to osmotic variations, their preparation under conditions allowing their direct use in biological medium is of major importance.

Solution behavior and encapsulation properties of fatty acid-elastin-like polypeptide conjugates.

Developing new biomaterials is an active research area owing to their applications in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and drug delivery. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are good candidates for these applications because they are biosourced, biocompatible and biodegradable. With the aim of developing ELP-based micelles for drug delivery applications we have synthesized 15 acyl-ELP compounds by conjugating myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic or linoleic acid to the N-terminus of three ELPs differing in molar mass.

Assembly of Fluorescent Polymer Nanoparticles Using Different Microfluidic Mixers.

Nanoprecipitation is a facile and efficient approach to the assembly of loaded polymer nanoparticles (NPs) for applications in bioimaging and targeted drug delivery. Their successful use in clinics requires reproducible and scalable synthesis, for which microfluidics appears as an attractive technique. However, in the case of nanoprecipitation, particle formation depends strongly on mixing.

The Catestatin-Derived Peptides Are New Actors to Fight the Development of Oral Candidosis.

Resistance to antifungal therapy of and non- strains, frequently associated with oral candidosis, is on the rise. In this context, host-defense peptides have emerged as new promising candidates to overcome antifungal resistance. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness against species of different Catestatin-derived peptides, as well as the combined effect with serum albumin.

Catestatin in innate immunity and Cateslytin-derived peptides against superbugs.

Chromogranin A (CgA) is the precursor of several antimicrobial peptides, such as Catestatin (Cts, bovine CgA344-364), initially described as a potent inhibitor of catecholamines. This peptide displays direct antimicrobial activities and contributes to immune system regulation. The aim of the present study is to investigate a designed peptide based on Cts to fight infections against superbugs and more particularly Staphylococcus aureus.

Large hybrid Polymer/Lipid Unilamellar vesicle (LHUV) at the nanoscale: An insight into the lipid distribution in the membrane and permeability control.

Membrane structuration of Large Hybrid Unilamellar Polymer/Lipid Vesicle (LHUV) is an important parameter on the optimization of their properties and thus their valuation in various fields. However, this kind of information is hardly accessible. In this work, we will focus on the development of LHUV obtained from the self-assembly of diblock poly(dimethylsiloxane)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PDMS-b-PEO) of different molar masses combined with 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) at 15% and 25% w/w content.

Multifunctional polymeric implant coatings based on gelatin, hyaluronic acid derivative and chain length-controlled poly(arginine).

Surface of the implantable devices is the root cause of several complications such as infections, implant loosening and chronic inflammation. There is an urgent need for multifunctional coatings that can address these shortcomings simultaneously in a manner similar to the structures of extracellular matrix. Herein, we developed a coating system composed of ECM components and a naturally derived polypeptide.

On the Infectivity of Bacteriophages in Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films: Inhibition or Preservation of Their Bacteriolytic Activity?

Antibiotic resistance in bacterial cells has motivated the scientific community to design new and efficient (bio)materials with targeted bacteriostatic and/or bactericide properties. In this work, a series of polyelectrolyte multilayer films differing in terms of polycation-polyanion combinations are constructed according to the layer-by-layer deposition method. Their capacities to host T4 and φx174 phage particles and maintain their infectivity and bacteriolytic activity are thoroughly examined.

Establishing contact between cell-laden hydrogels and metallic implants with a biomimetic adhesive for cell therapy supported implants.

For in-dwelling implants, controlling the biological interface is a crucial parameter to promote tissue integration and prevent implant failure. For this purpose, one possibility is to facilitate the establishment of the interface with cell-laden hydrogels fixed to the implant. However, for proper functioning, the stability of the hydrogel on the implant should be ensured.