Supramolecular hydrogels where the hydrogelator molecule is endowed with intrinsic pharmacological properties can potentially fulfil a dual function in drug delivery systems as nanocariers for incorporated drugs and as active drugs themselves. In this present study, we investigated the pharmacological activities of a panel of naproxen-dehydrodipeptide conjugates, previously studied for their hydrogelation ability and as nanocarriers for drug-delivery applications. A library of dehydrodipeptides, containing N-terminal canonical amino acids (Phe, Tyr, Trp, Ala, Asp, Lys, Met) N-capped with naproxen and linked to a C-terminal dehydroaminoacid (ΔPhe, ΔAbu), were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities, as well as for their cytotoxicity to non-cancer cells, using a variety of enzymatic and cellular assays. All compounds except one were able to significantly inhibit lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme at a similar level to naproxen. One of the compounds was able to inhibit the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) to a greater extent than naproxen, without inhibiting cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), and therefore is a potential lead in the search for selective COX-2 inhibitors. This hydrogelator is a potential candidate for dual COX/LOX inhibition as an optimised strategy for treating inflammatory conditions.
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'Self-Delivery' Using Anti-Inflammatory Hydrogels: Biological Evaluation of NSAID-Dehydrodipeptide Conjugates
Published:
11 November 2020
by MDPI
in 2nd International Online-Conference on Nanomaterials
session Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology
Abstract:
Keywords: hydrogelator; anti-inflammatory; NSAID; peptide; naproxen; cyclooxygenase; lipoxygenase; proteasome; supramolecular; self-assembly;
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