Year: 2021
Type: review
Abstract: Most clinically approved cancer therapies are potent and toxic small molecules that are limited by severe off-target toxicities and poor tumor-specific localization. Over the past few decades, attempts have been made to load chemotherapies into liposomes, which act to deliver the therapeutic agent directly to the tumor. Although liposomal encapsulation has been shown to decrease toxicity in human patients, reliance on passive targeting via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect has left some of these issues unresolved. Recently, investigations into modifying the surface of liposomes via covalent and/or electrostatic functionalization have offered mechanisms for tumor homing and subsequently controlled chemotherapeutic delivery. A wide variety of biomolecules can be utilized to functionalize liposomes such as proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids, which enable multiple directions for cancer cell localization. Importantly, when nanoparticles are modified with such molecules, care must be taken as not to inactivate or denature the ligand. Peptides, which are small proteins with <30 amino acids, have demonstrated the exceptional ability to act as ligands for transmembrane protein receptors overexpressed in many tumor phenotypes. Exploring this strategy offers a method in tumor targeting for cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme, pancreatic, lung, and breast based on the manifold of receptors overexpressed on various tumor cell populations. In this review, we offer a comprehensive summary of peptide-functionalized liposomes for receptor-targeted cancer therapy.
Source: APL Bioengineering
DOI: 10.1063/5.0029860
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,200
Funders: National Science Foundation, American Association for Cancer Research, American Cancer Society, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Awards: A data-driven drug delivery (4D) platform for probing and treating the chemoresistant bone marrow microenvironment, G2294837937, G2848036350, G3015188539, G3072816452, Graduate Research Fellowship Program(GRFP), G4221948420, G5500409320, In utero gene editing to cure a metabolic liver disease, Modular approach for the delivery of antibodies into the cytoplasm of cells, Targeting stem-like cells and their niche in pancreatic cancer
OpenAlex ID: W3121722193