Noncovalent interaction-assisted drug delivery system with highly efficient uptake and release of paclitaxel for anticancer therapy

Abstract

Yuping Wei,1 Liang Ma,2 Liang Zhang,1,2 Xia Xu2 1State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 2School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan, Anhui, People’s Republic of China Abstract: An effective drug delivery system requires efficient drug uptake and release inside cancer cells. Here, we report a novel drug delivery system, in which paclitaxel (PTX) interacts with a novel cell penetrating peptide (CPP) through noncovalent interaction designed based on molecular simulations. This CPP/PTX complex confers high efficiency in delivering PTX into cancer cells not by endocytosis but by an energy-independent pathway. Once inside cells, the noncovalent interaction between PTX and the CPP may allow fast release of PTX within cells due to the direct translocation of CPP/PTX. This drug delivery system exhibits strong capacity for inhibition of tumor growth and offers a new avenue for the development of advanced drug delivery systems for anticancer therapy. Keywords: paclitaxel, drug delivery, cell penetrating peptide, anticancer therapy, molecular simulations

Keywords

• paclitaxel
• drug delivery
• cell penetrating peptide
• anticancer therapy
• molecular simulations