Cross Talk between COVID-19 and Breast Cancer.

Cancer patients are more susceptible to COVID-19; however, the prevalence of COVID-19 in different types of cancer is still inconsistent and inconclusive. Here, we delineate the intricate relationship between breast cancer and COVID-19. Breast cancer and COVID-19 share the involvement of common comorbidities, hormonal signalling pathways, gender differences, rennin- angiotensin system (RAS), angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2), transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV).

Low molecular weight self-assembling peptide-based materials for cell culture, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, anticancer, drug delivery, bioimaging and 3D bioprinting applications.

In this review, we have focused on the design and development of low molecular weight self-assembling peptide-based materials for various applications including cell proliferation, tissue engineering, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, wound healing, drug delivery, bioimaging and 3D bioprinting. The first part of the review describes about stimuli and various noncovalent interactions, which are the key components of various self-assembly processes for the construction of organized structures. Subsequently, the chemical functionalization of the peptides has been discussed, which is required for the designing of self-assembling peptide-based soft materials.

Evaluation of a Peptide-Based Coassembled Nanofibrous and Thixotropic Hydrogel for Dermal Wound Healing.

The development of a peptide-based coassembled thixotropic hydrogel is a promising biomaterial, which could be used for dermal wound healing application. Cyclodextrins are widely used as biocompatible cyclic oligosaccharides that have hydrophilic exterior and hydrophobic interior for the formation of functional biomaterials. The current work presents a paradigm of a coassembled hydrogel with suitable mechanical strength that exhibits in vivo wound healing efficacy.

PEG Functionalized Stimuli Responsive Self-Healable Injectable Dynamic Imino-boronate G-quadruplex Hydrogel for the Delivery of Doxorubicin.

Dynamic G-quadruplex hydrogel is engineered by using guanosine, 2-formylphenylboronic acid, and 4-Arm PEG-NH. The gelation conditions are optimized by varying concentrations of the gelators, pH, and different alkali metal ions. The formation of imino-boronate bonds during the gelation process is fully characterized with FT-IR, H NMR, and B NMR spectroscopy.

Engineered Dynamic Boronate Ester-Mediated Self-Healable Biocompatible G-Quadruplex Hydrogels for Sustained Release of Vitamins.

Injectable, self-healable, and biocompatible dynamic hydrogels prepared from the molecular self-assembly and reversible covalent bond formation of low-molecular-weight hydrogelators are increasing in the field of drug delivery. Herein, we report the formation of G-quadruplex hydrogels via the multicomponent self-assembly and reversible bond formation between guanosine (G) and 1-naphthaleneboronic acid in the presence of the monovalent cation K. The cation-templated stacking interaction of G4 quartets and the formation of dynamic cyclic boronate esters are responsible for the construction of dynamic G-quadruplex assembly.

Investigations of Anti-Inflammatory Activity of a Peptide-Based Hydrogel Using Rat Air Pouch Model.

The growing area of biomaterial sciences has attracted broad attention in recent years in the development of peptide-based biocompatible materials with inherent therapeutic potentials. Here, we developed an Amoc (9-anthracenemethoxycarbonyl)-capped dipeptide-based biocompatible, injectable, thixotropic, and self-healable hydrogel. In vitro cytotoxicity of the hydrogel was investigated with the human embryonic kidney cell (HEK293) line.