SELF-ASSEMBLING NANOPARTICLES COMPOSED OF TRANSMEMBRANE PEPTIDES AND THEIR APPLICATION FOR SPECIFIC INTRA-TUMOR DELIVERY OF ANTI-CANCER DRUGS

摘要

Discloses a method for handling a hydrophobic agent comprising (a) combining in an aqueous solution (i) the hydrophobic agent and (ii) an isolated peptide that comprises at least 10 amino acids, and is a structural analog of a transmembrane domain of an integral membrane protein, wherein one terminus of the peptide has one or more consecutive negatively charged residues, and (b) allowing the peptide to self-assemble into nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles comprise the hydrophobic agent. Further disclosed are features of the claimed nanoparticle wherein (i) the isolated peptide may be a G-protein coupled receptor or an ABC transporter (ii) the isolated peptide comprises a further addition of a hydrophilic oligomer to the negatively charged terminus of the peptide (iii) the hydrophobic agent is an anticancer agent.