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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Targeted Plasma Membrane Delivery of a Hydrophobic Cargo Encapsulated in a Liquid Crystal Nanoparticle Carrier
Published on: February 8, 2017
Delivery of substances and their target-specific topical activation
Rüdiger Pipkorn1, Waldemar Waldeck, Herbert Spring
1Peptide Synthesis Facility, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. r.pipkorn@dkfz.de
Abstract:
Goal in pharmaceutical research is achievement of necessary drug concentrations in the target organ, effective treatment with safe delivery of genetic agents, while sparing normal tissue and minimizing side effects. A new "BioShuttle"-delivery system harbouring a cathepsin B cutting site, a nuclear address sequence and a functional peptide was developed and tumor cells were treated. Transport and subcellular activation were determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy permitting the conclusion: BioShuttle-conjugates prove as efficient tools for genetic interventions by selective and topical activation of therapeutic peptide precursors by enzymatic cleavage. As shown here for glioma cells and the cathepsin B cleavable site, living cells can be treated with high specificity and selectivity for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
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