There is provided a lysine oligomer derivative, wherein an ε-amino group and a carboxyl group of lysines are linked via a peptide bond, and a group capable of generating or absorbing electromagnetic wave is bonded to a C-terminal carboxyl group, an N-terminal amino group and/or an α-amino group. This lysine oligomer derivative has the characteristic of specifically accumulating in the cartilage matrix and can generate or absorb an electromagnetic wave, and is, therefore, useful as a cartilage tissue marker.

The present disclosure relates to peptide compositions and methods for treating an inflammatory condition such as ocular inflammation, retinal inflammation, dry eye, uveitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and inflammation resulting from nerve injury or nerve degeneration. The peptide compositions disclosed herein can also be used for treating pain such as neuropathic pain, ocular pain, chronic pain, pain resulting from chemotherapy or radiation, pain resulting from nerve injury or nerve degeneration, and pain resulting from an inflammatory condition, dysesthesia, or allodynia.

Glucose-responsive insulin conjugates that contain one or more linear oligomer sugar cluster are provided. Such insulin conjugates that may display a pharmacokinetic (PK) and/or pharmacodynamic (PD) profile that is responsive to the systemic concentrations of a saccharide such as glucose or alpha-methylmannose, even when administered to a subject in need thereof in the absence of an exogenous multivalent saccharide-binding molecule.

The present disclosure provides methods and reagents useful for analyzing protein-protein interfaces such as interfaces between a presenter protein (e.g., a member of the FKBP family, a member of the cyclophilin family, or PIN1) and a target protein. In some embodiments, the target and/or presenter proteins are intracellular proteins. In some embodiments, the target and/or presenter proteins are mammalian proteins.

The present invention provides a method for obtaining a specifically-shaped crystal (specifically, spherocrystal) of a compound with good reproducibility. This method for producing a specifically-shaped crystal (specifically spherocrystal) of a compound comprises: (1) a step for preparing a supersaturated solution of a compound having a degree of supersaturation equal to or higher than a critical degree of supersaturation; and (2) a step for precipitating a specifically-shaped crystal (specifically spherocrystal) of a compound from the supersaturated solution.

The present invention relates to a branched peptide that includes a first peptide chain and a second peptide chain having its C-terminal amino acid covalently linked to a sidechain of an amino acid residue of the first peptide chain, wherein the first peptide chain includes a plurality of aromatic amino acids and, optionally, an aromatic group linked to an amino terminus of the first peptide chain; and the second peptide chain includes a plurality of hydrophilic amino acids and an enzyme cleavage site. Pharmaceutical compositions containing the branched peptide and one or more therapeutic agents in an aqueous medium are disclosed, where the branched peptides form micelle structures in the aqueous medium. Methods of using the pharmaceutical composition to deliver therapeutic agents, and for treating various disease conditions are also described.

The present invention provides a functional peptide having excellent antioxidant activity, the peptide having excellent biocompatibility and significantly better antioxidant activity than conventional GSHs in order to overcome the limitation of the weak antioxidant activity of existing peptides. The peptide of the present invention can promote antioxidant activity or effectively repair biological tissue or cell damage caused by reactive oxygen species generated due to oxidative stress. Therefore, the peptide having such antioxidant activity effectively acts on cell damage caused by oxidative stress, and can thus be used to prevent and repair cell damage.

A number of anti-angiogenic strategies connected with the VEGF signalling pathway are used in current clinical treatment or trial phase, but they either cause adverse effects or are not specific. Various strategies were aimed at identifying peptides inhibiting the VEGF-A.sub.165/NRP-1 interaction. A well-known antiangiogenic peptide is the heptapeptide termed “A7R” having the amino acid sequence ATWLPPR, for which various derivatives have been synthesized, which include peptides having the general sequence Lys(hArg)-AA.sup.2-AA.sup.3-Arg. However, the ability of the known peptides to inhibit the VEGF-A.sub.165/NRP-1 interaction was too low for their use as candidate drugs for inhibiting angiogenesis in subjects in need thereof. The present inventors have now conceived a family of novel peptide-like compounds having a nanomolar affinity for NRP-1, which are thus endowed with a powerful capacity to inhibit the VEGF-A.sub.165/NRP-1 interaction. These novel peptide-like compounds may be relevantly used as antiangiogenic compounds, especially in subjects affected with cancer.

The invention relates in various aspects to a salt form S—(N, N-diethylcarbamoyl)glutathione, a method of producing the salt form, a pharmaceutical composition comprising said salt form. The invention also relates to a method of preventing or treating a glutamate-related disorder comprising administering to said subject a therapeutically effective amount of said salt form.

The present invention relates to a crystal of glutathione trisulfide dihydrate and a method for producing the same. According to the present invention, for example, the crystal can be provided by concentrating an aqueous solution in which glutathione trisulfide is dissolved and collecting the precipitated crystal of glutathione trisulfide dihydrate. In addition, the present invention relates to a simple method for producing polysulfide in an aqueous solvent using thiosulfate without using hydrogen sulfide, by stirring an aqueous solution in which a compound having a thiol group or a disulfide bond and thiosulfate are dissolved or by leaving the aqueous solution to stand.