Gazdek Serdar, Nika; Pospišil, Tihomir; Šišić, Marcela; Crnolatac, Ivo; Maleš, Petra; Frkanec, Ruža; Frkanec, Leo (2025) Self-assembled Ac-FFA-NH2 based hydrogels with strong immunostimulating activity for vaccine delivery. Nanoscale Advances, 7 (15). pp. 4660-4672. ISSN 2516-0230
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Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated that peptide self-assemblies are effective as vaccine adjuvants, playing a critical role in enhancing vaccine efficacy. In our prior studies, the Ac-FFA-NH2 peptide gelator was identified as a biocompatible material suitable for tissue engineering applications. In this study, we reveal that the self-assembled Ac-FFA-NH2 hydrogel functions as a potent vaccine delivery system, as evidenced by its strong immunostimulatory activity in vivo. Mice vaccinated with OVA antigen incorporated into the hydrogel produced significantly higher IgG titers compared to both the unadjuvanted control group and those treated with traditional adjuvants. This suggests that the Ac-FFA-NH2 hydrogel effectively induces a robust humoral immune response. Moreover, the hydrogel not only enhances humoral immunity but also stimulates a cellular immune response, as indicated by the production of the IgG2a subtype, further establishing it as an excellent vaccine delivery platform. Additionally, we describe a composite hydrogel developed through the stepwise self-assembly of the Ac-FFA-NH2 peptide and liposomes. Structural characterization using TEM, DSC, and FTIR confirmed that both peptide nanofibers and lipid vesicles retain their structural integrity within the composite gel. Importantly, morphological analysis demonstrated that the mechanical robustness of the hydrogel remains largely unaffected by the presence of liposomes at lipid concentrations lower than the Ac-FFA-NH2 concentration.
| Item Type: | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | hydrogels; peptides | ||||||||||||
| Subjects: | NATURAL SCIENCES > Chemistry | ||||||||||||
| Divisions: | Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry | ||||||||||||
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| Depositing User: | Lorena Palameta | ||||||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 02 Sep 2025 09:18 | ||||||||||||
| URI: | http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/9952 | ||||||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1039/d5na00033e |
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