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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Construction of Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides for Enhanced Penetration of Biological Barriers

Construction of Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides for Enhanced Penetration of Biological Barriers

Published on: September 19, 2022

Oligoalanine helical callipers for cell penetration.

Marta Pazo¹, Marisa Juanes, Irene Lostalé-Seijo

¹Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. javier.montenegro@usc.es.

Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)

|June 5, 2018

Summary

Short oligoalanine scaffolds enable precise control over peptide structure, facilitating the rational design of effective cell-penetrating peptides with minimal toxicity. This approach optimizes membrane interaction and cellular uptake.

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Biotinylated Cell-penetrating Peptides to Study Intracellular Protein-protein Interactions

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Published on: December 20, 2017

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Drug Delivery

Background:

Designing effective cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) is challenging due to the vast chemical space of natural amino acids.
Short peptides, particularly those rich in basic amino acids, are promising but difficult to rationally design.
Understanding structure-activity relationships is crucial for optimizing CPPs.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop short oligoalanine scaffolds for fine-tuning peptide helicity.
To investigate the cell-penetrating properties of these modified peptides.
To identify key structure-activity features for enhanced membrane interaction and cellular penetration.

Main Methods:

Utilized short oligoalanine scaffolds to control peptide secondary structure (helicity).
Studied the impact of helical structure on membrane interaction and cellular penetration.
Assessed peptide toxicity in relation to structure and function.

Main Results:

Oligoalanine scaffolds effectively modulated peptide helicity across different media.
Identified specific helical conformations that promote maximal membrane interaction.
Achieved efficient cellular penetration with minimal observed toxicity.
Established a correlation between helical structure, membrane interaction, and cellular uptake.

Conclusions:

Short oligoalanine helical callipers serve as optimal scaffolds for rational CPP design.
This strategy simplifies the identification of CPPs with improved efficacy and safety profiles.
The findings provide a framework for designing next-generation CPPs for therapeutic applications.