Choosing an Optimal Solvent Is Crucial for Obtaining Cell-Penetrating Peptide Nanoparticles with Desired Properties and High Activity in Nucleic Acid Delivery.

ABSTRACT: Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are highly promising transfection agents that can deliver various compounds into living cells, including nucleic acids (NAs). Positively charged CPPs can form non-covalent complexes with negatively charged NAs, enabling simple and time-efficient nanoparticle preparation. However, as CPPs have substantially different chemical and physical properties, their complexation with the cargo and characteristics of the resulting nanoparticles largely depends on the properties of the surrounding environment, i.e., solution. Here, we show that the solvent used for the initial dissolving of a CPP determines the properties of the resulting CPP particles formed in an aqueous solution, including the activity and toxicity of the CPP-NA complexes. Using different biophysical

SUBMITTER: Biswas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9963036 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature