Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins: Implications for Nanotechnological Applications in Biosensing and Drug/Gene Delivery

Abstract

Over various scientific fields in biochemistry, amino acids have been highlighted in research works. Protein, peptide- and amino acid-based drug delivery systems have proficiently transformed nanotechnology via immense flexibility in their features for attaching various drug molecules and biodegradable polymers. In this regard, novel nanostructures including carbon nanotubes, electrospun carbon nanofibers, gold nanoislands, and metal-based nanoparticles have been introduced as nanosensors for accurate detection of these organic compounds. These nanostructures can bind the biological receptor to the sensor surface and increase the surface area of the working electrode, significantly enhancing the biosensor performance. Interestingly, protein-based nanocarriers have also emerged as useful drug and gene delivery platforms. This is important since, despite recent advancements, there are still biological barriers and other obstacles limiting gene and drug delivery efficacy. Currently available strategies for gene therapy are not cost-effective, and they do not deliver the genetic cargo effectively to target sites. With rapid advancements in nanotechnology, novel gene delivery systems are introduced as nonviral vectors such as protein, peptide, and amino acid-based nanostructures. These nano-based delivery platforms can be tailored into functional transformation using proteins and peptides ligands based nanocarriers, usually overexpressed in the specified diseases. The purpose of this review is to shed light on traditional and nanotechnology-based methods to detect amino acids, peptides, and proteins. Furthermore, new insights into the potential of amino protein-based nanoassemblies for targeted drug delivery or gene transfer are presented.

A review on biopolymer-derived electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and antiviral applications

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DNA aptamer-based dual-responsive nanoplatform for targeted MRI and combination therapy for cancer

“…Dendrimers with micellar solubilization, good encapsulation ability, biodegradable nature and excellent biocompatibility have been widely used for drug delivery. 1 Biopolymeric nanoparticles such as chitosan and dextran, liposomes, 2,3 mesoporous silica, 4 gold nanomaterials, 5 carbon nanomaterials, 6 proteins 7 and even cells 8 have been employed for drug delivery. The introductions of aptamers as targeting ligands to the above drug delivery systems further favor the accurate treating and diagnosing of disease.…”

Estrone-Conjugated PEGylated Liposome Co-Loaded Paclitaxel and Carboplatin Improve Anti-Tumor Efficacy in Ovarian Cancer and Reduce Acute Toxicity of Chemo-Drugs

“…Meanwhile, amino acids, peptides and proteins have been studied for targeting drug or gene delivery, with stronger biocompatibility and tumor targeting capabilities, which might help to overcome many shortcomings of traditional delivery systems. 32 In addition, RNA-based nanoparticles also showed great potential in improving cancer diagnosis and treatment. 33 At present, drug delivery systems for targeting therapy of ovarian cancer included nanoparticles, liposomes, nano-micelles, branched dendrimers, nanocapsules and nanostructured lipid preparations.…”