title: Amphipathic peptides and drug delivery.
abstract: The discovery of cell-penetrating peptides as gene delivery systems and the interest in the mechanism by which these vectors cross the cell membrane have generated a large number of studies. Among the parameters involved in the translocation process, controversy has arisen about the role of the amphipathicity of the carriers in the interaction and reorganization of the cell membrane. In this review we have summarized the vectors with primary or secondary amphipathicity related to secondary structure. Some of the insights into the relationship between the aggregation state of the peptide at the concentrations used for internalization studies and its interaction with the cell membrane result from our contribution to the field with a new family of amphipathic proline-rich peptides.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, Josep Samitier 1-5, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jimena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández-Carneado
authors.forename: Marcelo J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kogan
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pujals
authors.forename: Ernest
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giralt
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides