Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Feb 21;11(2):91.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11020091.

Topological Aspects of the Design of Nanocarriers for Therapeutic Peptides and Proteins

Nadezhda Knauer  1 , Ekaterina Pashkina  2 , Evgeny Apartsin  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Topological Aspects of the Design of Nanocarriers for Therapeutic Peptides and Proteins

Nadezhda Knauer et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Supramolecular chemistry holds great potential for the design of versatile and safe carriers for therapeutic proteins and peptides. Nanocarriers can be designed to meet specific criteria for given application (exact drug, administration route, target tissue, etc.). However, alterations in the topology of formulation components can drastically change their activity. This is why the supramolecular topology of therapeutic nanoconstructions has to be considered. Herein, we discuss several topological groups used for the design of nanoformulations for peptide and protein delivery: modification of polypeptide chains by host-guest interactions; packaging of proteins and peptides into liposomes; complexation and conjugation with dendrimers. Each topological type has its own advantages and disadvantages, so careful design of nanoformulations is needed. Ideally, each case where nanomedicine is needed requires a therapeutic construction specially created for that taking into account features of the administration route, target tissue, or organ, properties of a drug, its bioavailability, etc. The wide number of studies in the field of protein delivery by supramolecular and nanocarriers for proteins and peptides evidence their increasing potential for different aspects of the innovative medicine. Although significant progress has been achieved in the field, there are several remaining challenges to be overcome in future.

Keywords: carriers; cavitands; dendrimers; formulations; liposomes; nanomedicine; peptides; proteins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Applications of peptide and protein nanoformulations obtained by host-guest interactions with cavitands.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Applications of liposomal peptide and protein nanoformulations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Applications of dendrimers for peptide and protein delivery.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Topological groups of nanoformulations for peptide and protein delivery: modification of polypeptide chains by host-guest interactions with cavitands (A); packaging of proteins and peptides into liposomes (B); complexation with dendrimers (C); and conjugation with dendrimers (D).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tan M.L., Choong P.F.M., Dass C.R. Recent developments in liposomes, microparticles and nanoparticles for protein and peptide drug delivery. Peptides. 2010;31:184–193. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2009.10.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mitragotri S., Burke P.A., Langer R. Overcoming the challenges in administering biopharmaceuticals: Formulation and delivery strategies. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2014;13:655–672. doi: 10.1038/nrd4363. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shechter Y., Mironchik M., Saul A., Gershonov E., Precido-Patt L., Sasson K., Tsubery H., Mester B., Kapitkovsky A., Rubinraut S., et al. New Technologies to Prolong Life-time of Peptide and Protein Drugs In vivo. Int. J. Pept. Res. Ther. 2007;13:105–117. doi: 10.1007/s10989-006-9052-1. - DOI
    1. Schultz I., Wurzel J., Meinel L. Drug delivery of Insulin-like growth factor I. Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 2015;97:329–337. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2015.04.026. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Morishita M., Peppas N.A. Is the oral route possible for peptide and protein drug delivery? Drug Discov. Today. 2006;11:905–910. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2006.08.005. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources