title: Self-assembling peptides: potential role in tumor targeting.
abstract: This review focuses on the application of two classes of peptides, i.e., self-assembling peptides (SAPs) and cell-targeting peptides (CTPs), in the development of nanocarrier delivery systems. Self-assembling peptides are emerging in a wide range of biomedical and bioengineering applications and fall into several classes, including peptide amphiphilies, bolaamphiphile peptides, cyclic peptides, and ionic complementary peptides, which can be found naturally or synthesized. The advantage of synthesizing peptides is that their self-assembling properties can be exploited to form desirable structures for various applications. Another, unique property of self-assembling peptides, is stimuli-responsibility in different environments including various pHs, temperatures, ionic strengths, etc. These characteristics make peptides applicable in a wide range of biomaterials in drug discovery. This study reviews the design principles of well-known self-assembling peptides, as well as their physical/chemical properties. In addition, it discusses the therapeutic cancer-targeting peptides and current combinatorial peptide library methods used to identify targeting peptides. Cancer-targeting peptides can target either tumor cell surfaces or tumor vasculature. The RGD peptide is one of the first tumor-targeting peptides that can bind to self-assembling peptides or any other nanocarrier to improve the therapeutic efficiency of targeting drug delivery systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sadatmousavi
authors.forename: Madjid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soltani
authors.forename: Reyhaneh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nazarian
authors.forename: Mousa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic