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Related Concept Videos

Drug Delivery: Overview01:16

Drug Delivery: Overview

339
The selection of a drug's delivery route depends upon its physicochemical properties, including lipid or water solubility and ionization, as well as the therapeutic requirement, such as immediate or sustained effect. These routes can be divided into three primary categories: enteral, parenteral, and topical.
Enteral delivery involves administering drugs directly through swallowing, sublingual placement, or buccal application. Orally administered drugs predominantly navigate the...
339
Drug Delivery: Miscellaneous Routes01:22

Drug Delivery: Miscellaneous Routes

422
Drug delivery methods like oral inhalation, nasal sprays, transdermal patches, eye drops, intravitreal injection,  and rectal administration provide localized effects with reduced toxicity.
Oral inhalation and nasal sprays swiftly transfer drugs across the respiratory epithelium's mucosal layer. Inhaled glucocorticoids and bronchodilators directly target lung conditions such as asthma, while fluticasone nasal spray mitigates allergic rhinitis.
Transdermal patches transport drugs...
422
Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport01:24

Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport

711
Drugs must traverse multiple biological barriers, such as multi-layered skin, single-layered intestinal epithelium, and the plasma membrane, to reach their target sites within the body. The plasma membrane, a highly structured composite of phospholipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, is the cell's protective boundary, facilitating selective substance exchange.
Phospholipids arrange themselves into a bilayer, with hydrophilic heads oriented outward and hydrophobic tails facing inward.
711
Carrier-Mediated Transport01:06

Carrier-Mediated Transport

478
Carrier-mediated transport is a pivotal process in drug absorption, particularly for lipid-insoluble drugs, and encompasses facilitated diffusion and active transport. Facilitated diffusion allows drugs to move along their concentration gradient without energy expenditure, while active transport utilizes ATP to drive drug movement against this gradient.
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
478

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Unstructured polypeptides as a versatile drug delivery technology.

Yue Ji1, Dingkang Liu1, Haichao Zhu1

  • 1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Druggability of Biopharmaceuticals and State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.

Acta Biomaterialia
|April 19, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Unstructured polypeptides offer a biodegradable, low-immunogenicity alternative to polyethylene glycol (PEG) for extending drug half-life. This review explores their evolution, characteristics, and applications in drug delivery, highlighting their potential to replace PEGylation.

Keywords:
BiomaterialsDrug deliveryHalf-life extensionUnstructured polypeptides

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Area of Science:

  • Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering
  • Drug Delivery Systems
  • Polymer Science

Background:

  • Polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylation is a common method to enhance drug delivery efficiency.
  • However, PEG's immunogenicity and non-biodegradability necessitate alternative solutions.
  • Unstructured polypeptides are emerging as promising alternatives due to favorable characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evolution and characteristics of unstructured polypeptides for drug delivery.
  • To discuss the application of unstructured polypeptides in extending the half-life of various drugs.
  • To explore innovative applications and future perspectives of polypeptide-based drug delivery.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on natural and engineered unstructured polypeptides.
  • Analysis of polypeptide characteristics relevant to drug delivery (e.g., length, biodegradability, immunogenicity).
  • Compilation of successful applications in extending the half-life of peptides, proteins, antibody fragments, and nanocarriers.

Main Results:

  • Unstructured polypeptides demonstrate tunable length, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity.
  • They have been successfully used to extend the half-life of diverse therapeutic agents.
  • Innovative uses include releasable masks, multimolecular adaptors, and intracellular delivery carriers.

Conclusions:

  • Unstructured polypeptides show significant potential to replace PEGylation in therapeutic protein/peptide delivery.
  • They offer enhanced pharmacokinetic performance without the drawbacks of PEG.
  • Further research into polypeptide design and application holds promise for advanced drug development.