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Self-Assembled Skin-Penetrating Peptides with Controlled Supramolecular Properties for Enhanced Transdermal Delivery.

Jeon Hyeong KangJieun KimJae Yun LeeDongHyun KangHyun Jin KimKyobum KimWoo-Jin Jeong
Published in: Biomacromolecules (2023)
The use of nanocarriers decorated with penetration-enhancing agents (PEAs) is considered to be a promising approach for efficient transdermal delivery. In this study, we developed short amphiphilic skin-penetrating peptides (17 amino acids) that functioned not only as PEAs but also as building blocks of nanocarriers without the incorporation of additional macromolecules for self-assembly and guest molecule encapsulation. Interestingly, varying only two amino acids in the hydrophobic moiety of the peptides resulted in significantly different self-assembly behavior, thermal stability, protease resistance, and skin-penetration efficiency in a human skin model. The analysis of the peptide secondary structure revealed that such characteristic changes arose due to the sequence variation-mediated conformational change in the hydrophobic block. These findings hold significant promise for the development of simple and effective delivery systems exhibiting controllable supramolecular properties.
Keyphrases
  • amino acid
  • soft tissue
  • drug delivery
  • wound healing
  • water soluble
  • cancer therapy
  • ionic liquid
  • drug release
  • single cell
  • molecular dynamics
  • single molecule
  • big data
  • machine learning
  • aqueous solution
  • highly efficient