Functional Engineering of Bioactive Peptides: Chemical Modifications and Synthetic Biology Approaches

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Peptide Chemistry
• Synthetic Biology

Background:

• Bioactive peptides (BPs) possess significant physiological activities but suffer from poor stability, bioavailability, and membrane permeability.
• These limitations restrict their use in food, pharmaceutical, and biomaterial industries.
• Engineering BPs is crucial for overcoming inherent drawbacks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review synthetic biology and chemical modification strategies for bioactive peptides.
• To analyze the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of various BP modification techniques.
• To identify current challenges and future trends in bioactive peptide engineering.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across major scientific databases (122 studies reviewed).
• Categorization and summary of synthetic biology approaches: amino acid substitution, truncation, hybridization, functionalization, and integration.
• Discussion of chemical modification methods: terminal modification, cyclization, backbone modification, polymer conjugation, lipidation, and glycosylation.

Main Results:

• Synthetic biology offers diverse strategies for BP engineering, including sequence manipulation and functionalization.
• Chemical modifications provide versatile routes to enhance BP properties, such as stability and delivery.
• Each strategy presents unique benefits and challenges impacting practical application.

Conclusions:

• Effective modification of bioactive peptides is essential for unlocking their full potential.
• Synthetic biology and chemical approaches offer powerful tools for improving BP characteristics.
• Further research into BP modification will drive innovation in various scientific fields.