Symposium SB05: Nano-Bio Interactions—From Design to Biological Response

Sebastien Perrier, the University of Warwick and Monash University 

Cyclic Peptide/Polymer Conjugates for Therapeutic Applications 

Written by Richard Wu

Peptides are small molecular assemblies made up from the same building blocks as proteins. While most peptides are naturally occurring, synthetic peptide materials have recently become a topic of research interest for various biomedical applications.

Sebastien Perrier, from the University of Warwick and Monash University, has been experimenting with using peptides to build nanotubes for therapeutic purposes. By chemically attaching small polymer materials to peptides, his research group has been able to develop self-assembling nanotubes. These nanotubes can deliver anti-cancer drugs to kill tumor cells and be degraded easily when exposed to a certain wavelength of light. In animal studies, the nanotubes were well-tolerated and could be excreted quickly through the kidneys, demonstrating that they did not accumulate in the body or cause toxicity.

These findings have the potential to advance cancer treatments that can more specifically target tumor cells and be better tolerated by the human body. In doing so, this work makes important steps toward improving the lives of cancer patients.