Title:Delivery of Therapeutics and Molecules Using Self-Assembled Peptides
Volume: 21
Issue: 22
Author(s): S. Sundar, Y. Chen and Y.W. Tong
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Anti-Cancer, drug delivery, growth factors, hormones, nanomedicine, nucleic acids, peptide amphiphiles, proteins,
self-assembly, therapeutics.
Abstract: The use of nanobiotechnology in the formulation of drug carriers has been gaining popularity in recent years.
Peptide self-assembly technology is a particularly attractive option due to its simplicity and programmability. Selfassembling
peptide amphiphiles are surfactant-like molecules that are capable of spontaneous organization into a variety
of nanostructures. The structural and functional features of these nanostructures can be designed through alterations to the
peptide sequence. With a keen understanding of the supramolecular principles governing the non-covalent interactions involved,
drug loading strategies can be customised. Hydrophobic drugs can be hidden within the core via aromatic interactions
while gene-based therapeutics can be complexed with a cationic region of lysine residues. This review article focuses
on the application of self-assembling peptide amphiphiles to drug delivery in the area of anti-cancer therapeutics,
protein- and peptide-based therapeutics and nucleic acid-based therapeutics. Specific examples are used to discuss the
various systems available and emphasis is given to the encapsulation and release mechanism.
