Interactions of Peptide Amphiphiles With Viruses and Cells Are Enabled by Amorphous Nanostructures
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Peptide amphiphiles can form fibrillar and amorphous structures. While fibrillar assemblies have previously been shown to enhance viral infectivity or retroviral transduction for gene delivery, we now elucidate the mechanism behind amorphous peptide amphiphiles that promote virus-cell interactions. Using electron microscopy, we reveal that amorphous fragments of polyunsaturated peptide amphiphiles allow for more VLPs to bind directly to the plasma membrane, explaining previously observed efficient viral entry and superior biodegradation compared to state-of-the-art adjuvants. We believe our work highlights the potential of unsaturated fatty acid peptide hybrid materials for clinical applications.
Source: Journal of Peptide Science
DOI: 10.1002/psc.70051
Authors: Julia La Roche, Lena Rauch‐Wirth, Laura Zimmerman, Fabian Zech, Jan Münch, Clarissa Read, Kübra Kaygisiz
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,030
OpenAlex ID: W4413140130