A cyclic RGD-coated peptide nanoribbon as a selective intracellular nanocarrier

We have synthesized a peptide-based supramolecular building block consisting of a cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (cRGD) peptide segment and a beta-sheet-forming peptide segment. The block peptide was shown to self-assemble into a cRGD-coated nanoribbon structure, as revealed by circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. We have shown that this cRGD-coated nanoribbon can encapsulate hydrophobic guest molecules and deliver them into cells. Colocalization of the nanoribbon with LysoTracker and the selective intracellular delivery results suggests that the cRGD-coated nanoribbon is likely to be internalized into the cells through integrin receptors.