title: Inspiration from the mirror: D-amino acid containing peptides in biomedical approaches.
abstract: D-amino acids, the enantiomers of naturally abundant L-amino acids, bear unique stereochemistry properties that lead to the resistance towards most of the endogenous enzymes. Previous works have demonstrated applications of D-amino acids in therapeutic development with the aid of mirror-image phage display and retro-inverso peptide synthesis. In this review, we highlight the recent progress and challenges in the exploration of D-amino acids at the interface of chemistry and life science. First, we will introduce some progress made in traditional application of D-amino acids to enhance biostability of peptide therapeutics. Then, we discuss some works that explore the relatively underexplored interactions between the enzyme and D-amino acids and enzymatic reactions of D-amino acids. To highlight the enzymatic reactions of D-amino acids, we will describe several emerging works on the enzyme-instructed self-assembly (EISA) and their potential application in selective anti-inflammatory or anticancer therapies. At the end, we briefly mention the challenges and possible future directions.
authors.forename: Zhaoqianqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D006801:Humans; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010455:Peptides