A team of scientists has developed an innovative approach using peptides specially designed to improve drug formulations. This innovative method significantly improves antitumoral efficacy, as demonstrated by leukemia models. The study, published in the magazine ChemistryIt was led by researchers from the Advanced Science Research Center of Cuny Graduate Center (Cuny Asrc) and the Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center.
Medication management systems often face two critical challenges: bad solubility and inefficient supply within the body. Many drugs do not dissolve well, which makes it difficult for them to achieve their planned objectives. In addition, current delivery systems waste a significant portion of the drug during preparation: only 5-10% of the drug is successfully charged, which leads to less effective treatments.
Peptide assistants
The research team has developed a new solution designing peptides, short amino acid strings, to bind with specific drugs and create therapeutic nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are mainly composed of the drug, with a coating of thin peptides that improves solubility, improves stability in the body and optimizes supply to specific areas. Surprisingly, this approach achieves drug loads of up to 98%, a dramatic improvement on traditional methods.
When using a combination of computer models and laboratory tests, new drug/peptide nanoparticles are identified. Subsequently they demonstrated notable results in leukemia models. Nanoparticles were more effective in reducing tumors compared to drugs alone. In addition, its high efficiency allows lower doses of medicines, which potentially reduces side effects.
“The peptides, which are molecules designed made of the same construction blocks as proteins in our body, are extremely versatile,” said the co -presiding researcher Rein Ulijn, director of the Nanoscience initiative at Cuny Asrc and chemistry professor at Hunter College . “We think they could be useful to solve two major problems observed in many medications: bad solubility and inefficient supply. When designing a peptide that binds to the drug by improving its solubility, we could create nanoparticles with a very high load.”
Customizable technology
This innovation has a significant potential because peptides can be customized to improve the effectiveness of several medications. Given the wide range of possible interactions in peptide design, it can be feasible to adapt the peptides for specific medications, extending their applicability beyond cancer treatments.
“This advance allows the development of better precision medicines,” said the co-director researcher Daniel Heller,Head of the Cancer Nanomedicin Laboratory in Molecular Pharmacology Program of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Using specially designed peptides, we can build nanomedicines that make existing medications more effective and less toxic and even allow the development of medications that may not be able to function without these nanoparticles.”
Naxhije “Gia” Berisha, a former Cuny Graduate Center Ph.D. The student who performed much of the experimental work, highlighted the potential of the peptide approach: “We use experimental tests to identify promising peptides and computational modeling to analyze their interactions with therapeutic molecules,” said “it is incredible to see how simple variations in the peptide The sequence could coincide with specific medications.
Looking to the future
The research team is now adopting laboratory automation methods to refine and further accelerate the process of coincidence of peptides and drugs. Their next steps include verifying the potential of the approach in a broader range of diseases. If it succeeds, this innovation could lead to more effective treatments, reduced side effects and significant cost savings in medication development.