Supramolecular hydrogels are promising for applications as scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug carrier and controlled-release systems, and sensors. Furthermore, hydrogels obtained from natural products are particularly attractive because they are generally biodegradable and biocompatible for in vivo applications. We report the formation of a robust guanosine hydrogel in the presence of boric acid and potassium hydroxide. This gelation is specific for guanine-containing nucleosides with cis-2',3'-diols. These structural requirements are due to dynamic, covalent borate ester formation and non-covalent guanosine self-assembly. A number of guanosine derivatives were examined for gelation and co-gelation abilities. This guanosine-boric acid hydrogel system is a promising media for the controlled release of bioactive diol-containing molecules, such as zanamivir, and nucleoside analogs, such as acyclovir or ganciclovir.

Characterization and function of guanosine-borate hydrogels

247th National Meeting (2014)

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